001Good evening. I would like to call to order the regular meeting of the Newport News School Board for Tuesday, November 18th, 2025. On behalf of the members of the school board and Dr. Mitchell, and sitting in for her today is Dr. Rogers, I welcome each of you present this evening and those who are watching on TV and online. A quorum is present to transact the business of the school division. We have one member of the school board who wishes to participate. in our closed meeting electronically. As indicated in board policy BEE, electronic participation in meetings from remote locations, the board member must make such requests, cite the reason for remote attendance, and the board must approve the request by majority vote of the members present. School board member Maritza Alger has made such a request.
002Ms. Alger? Yes, can you hear me? Yes, I can. Would you please share your reason to participate electronically? Yes, it's due to medical reasons. Thank you. Hearing Ms. Alger's request, what is the pleasure of the board? Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. It's been moved and seconded that we approve Ms. Alger's request. Any questions? Any discussion? Miss Buffalo call the roll please Harris for hunter or Searles law for a man for Brown for best for motion passes 6-0 Thank you We will begin tonight's meeting with the invocation and pledge to the flag here to do the honors are two students from Kiln Creek Elementary School Christian Griffin and Abigail tops First Christian will come forward and deliver the invocation He will be followed by Abigail who will come forward and deliver the pledge
003Christian, would you please come forward and tell us a little about yourself before you get started? Good evening, everybody as you know, my name is Christian Griffin and My mom is a Kia Jordan My favorite color is red My favorite food is sushi, and I love roller coasters, and I really just am glad to be here speaking to you all today. So you want me to start? Yes, you can. Thank you. Jazz great B.B. King said, The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. As you prepare to meet on behalf of the students and staff of Newport News Public Schools tonight, remember your own educational journeys and how your decisions every day shape our educational experiences. Be guided by wisdom, forethought, grace, determination, and a sense of urgency.
004In this world where so many have lost so much, do not lose sight of the power you hold. And remember that we will never lose the acknowledge we've gained here in Newport News. Thank you. I wore red tonight because I knew that was your baby. And now, Abigail, will you please come forward, tell us a little bit about yourself before you begin the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag, the state of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Abigail. Thank you, Abigail. And I like dinosaurs, too. All right. Supporting Christian and Abigail tonight are their family members and school family. Please stand and be recognized. The board appreciates the encouragement you have given these students and we thank you
005for bringing them to tonight's meeting. Thank you. The next item on tonight's agenda is school board recognitions. Dr. Rogers, please join me at the podium. Good evening, everyone. Oh, you can do better than that. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Oh, it's the time for school board recognitions for November 18th. Let's get started. Purple Star Awards. The Purple Star designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate military-friendly practices and a commitment to military students. Virginia is home to a large population of active-duty guard, reserve and veteran armed service members and our public school educate thousands of military connected students this evening we're proud to announce that catherine g johnson elementary school learned designation as the 25 2026 purple star school second award and that Ella Fitzgerald, middle school on designation as a 2025-2026 Purple Star School First
006Award. Katherine Johnson was named a Purple Star School for the first time in 2022. Join us this evening to accept this recognition on behalf of Katherine Johnson community. If you would please come forward and remain up front until a photo is taken. Principal, Dr. Angela Montas. Come on up. Assistant Principal, Dr. Heather Hill. Family and Community Engagement Specialist, Kelsey Carrillo. Professional School Counselor, Brittany Shoffert. Military Family Life Counselor, who is at her seat, Whitney Lawton. To be designated a Purple Star School, school staff must complete training in meeting the needs of military students and name a specific designee to serve as a point of contact for their military families. They must also maintain active partnerships with their military families. Katherine Johnson has an Anchor for Life Club, which supports new students as they transition to
007the school and promotes leadership and resilience among club members. The club provides opportunities for students to enhance social skills, learn leadership skills, build character, improve self-esteem, and integrate into their community. Purple Star schools must also offer online information specifically designated for military families and they must offer new student peer support to ease their transition. Congratulations again to the team at Katherine Johnson Elementary School for their active support of their families. Congratulations. Come together now and take a photo. So while they'll make their way back to their seats, I would like to acknowledge the other members of the team in attendance this evening. Would you please stand for acknowledgement? Joining Katherine Johnson and also General Stanford Elementary School, which received this Purple Star second award last year, is our newest Purple Star designated school. Ella Fitzgerald
008Middle School. Joining us this evening to accept this recognition on behalf of the Ella Fitzgerald community are, if you would please come forward and remain up front until the photo is taken, Principal Dr. Jerron Ransom, Assistant Principal Nakesha Williams, Assistant Principal Tanya Graham-Golotro, Assistant Principal Rolando Pierce. Professional School Counselor Ashley Jackson. And Military Family Counselor Nakia Howard. To be designated a Purple Star school, school staff must complete training in meeting the needs of military students and name a specific designee to serve as point of contact to their military families. They must also maintain an active partnership with their military families. For our schools to be awarded the Purple Star, the school system must also demonstrate its support to military families. In September 2025, the Newport News Public School passed a resolution committing to support the
009approximately 3,000 military-connected students in the school system. through ongoing professional development for teachers to prepare them to the best meet the needs of this population and through focused communication to keep these families informed of the school and community resources available to them. We're proud to welcome Ella Fitzgerald as the latest distinguished Purple Star School in Newport News Public Schools. Congratulations Ella Fitzgerald. You all can come around and take a photo. While they make their way to their seats, I would like to acknowledge the other members of the team in attendance this evening. Please stand to be recognized. So we got everybody. Okay. Our last recognition this evening is the NNEF Teacher Innovation Mini Grant Recipients. Next, the board would like to recognize the Newport News Education Foundation 2025 Teacher Invocation Mini Grant Recipients. As I
010call your name, please come forward to receive your recognition certificate. Please remain up front so that we can take a group picture. Marlena Chamberlain. Music teacher at Carver Elementary School, come on up. Mitzi Enbridge, music teacher at Riverside Elementary School. Tony Gabrielle, art teacher at Passage Middle School. Karen Richardson, pre-kindergarten teacher at Marshall Early Learning Center, come on up. Ashley Sell, English teacher at Warwick High School. Jessica Schiltz. Media Specialist at Passage Middle School. Come on up. Emily Wells, fifth grade teacher at Kiln Creek Elementary School. And Jennifer West, lead first grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School. Come on up. Each recipient completed an application describing their project along with a detailed spending budget. You know it always starts with the budget, right? Each application was reviewed by a committee from the Newport News Education
011Board, and each was awarded the funds requested up to $500 allowable maximum grant amount. The year the foundation awarded... This year the foundation awarded close to $3,400 in total. Yeah. The recipients inspiring ideas for use of the mini grants covered everything from DJ tech to chess, a tropical welcome mural to flexible seating for the flexible learning. Oh, okay. Creative. We appreciate you for using your creativity and innovation to inspire our students and improve our schools in so many different and various ways. Congratulations. We're going to now take a photo. Have Dale join with them. Have Dale come up as well. There we go. Yes, absolutely. Gary. No, we're good. We're good. While they're returning to their seats, I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge that Newport News Education Foundation and Corporate Partnership
012Liaison, Dale Mingleton, as you saw in the photo, and the NNEF Board of Directors, President Sharon Martin, who also joined us in the photo. Also, we would like to thank the grant recipients, guests who may have come with them tonight, and their principals who may be in attendance this evening. Carver Elementary Principal, Tanisha Hurd-Williams, if you're in the audience, please stand. Riverside Elementary Principal, Catherine Jen. Passage Middle School, Chris Smith, who has two recipients. Marshall Early Learning Principal, Dr. Katie Smith. Warwick High School Principal, Tiffany Thompson. Kiln Creek Elementary Principal, Paula McConnell. And Richneck Principal, Rhonda Chambers Harmon. Thank you so much for your support. So this concludes the evening's recognition. At this time, we will take an eight-minute break so that our honorees and their families may leave if they desire to do so.
013During this time, our viewing audience will be able to enjoy this month's school spotlight. The meeting will resume following the spotlight. See you then. Hello. Now I want to say thank you. I can say thank you as well. Hello families and students. I'm excited to reveal our city's best superpower, reading. Today we're launching Newport News Reads. A city-wide reading celebration that brings students, families, schools, and community partners together around great stories. Our theme is reading as our superpower because every page we turn makes us stronger. Stronger thinkers, kinder friends, and bigger dreams. Ladies and gentlemen! A powerful story about courage, friendship, and finding your voice. Our middle school detectives will investigate the story framed, written by James Ponce. Humor, mystery, and adventure creates a captivating story that will keep you guessing through every page. Across
014our city you'll find evidence of new print news reads. The reading challenges book clubs and family literacy nights. We want reading to be valued, visible, and vibrant. In classrooms, living rooms, and every corner of our community. So here's your mission. Read every day. Share what you're reading with a friend or a family member. And join a challenge. Then, cheer on someone else and encourage them to read. Get ready to use your superpower. Together, let's show how Newport News reads. And here's our mayor. his own words of encouragement from the city. Thanks Dr. Mitchell. Hey students, I'm Mayor Jones. Our entire city is cheering for you. When you read, you grow skills that power Newport News. Imagination, problem solving, and leadership. Elementary friends enjoy. And make time to read a little every day. Reading is our
015superpower. Let's read Newport News. Hello, Newport News readers. I'm Chief Wesley Rogers with the Newport News Fire Department, and I'm excited to kick off this year's reading. Just like firefighters, we rely on teamwork. courage and quick thinking and the characters in our featured books do too. So whether you're standing up for what's right or piecing together clues like Gloria, remember every great adventure begins with a good story. So grab your book. and let's read and learn. Veterans Day parade and breakfast that brought the whole community together. The Denbigh High School Drumline led the patriotic parade along with cadets from the Commonwealth Challenge Youth Academy in Virginia Beach. Every student cheered for the veterans as they paraded through and around the school. Afterwards, veterans and their students enjoyed breakfast with a number of local restaurants, businesses,
016churches, and civic organizations. graciously donating food for the celebration. Volunteers from Hope Church at Lee Hall, the American Legion, and soldiers from McDonald Army Health Center at Fort Eustis offered their time to serve the veterans while connecting with families and honored guests. General Stamford Elementary, located on Fort Eustis Base, celebrated our military through music and arts. Fourth and fifth grade students performed with energetic passion during their annual tribute to veterans. Under the direction of talented music teacher Morgan Cassidy, the students lifted their voices to honor the American flag and all brave veterans. The Star Spangled Banner was pre-recorded and performed with excellence by Marva Folt's first graders. To add to the patriotic ambiance, creative art teacher Valencia Gross commissioned her young artists to create themed artwork to decorate the gymnasium. Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones
017offered his heartfelt thanks before enjoying the musical performance. Mayor Jones is a veteran himself and a child of a military family, just like Principal Jennifer Cornish and all the talented students performing for the veterans that evening. Greenwood Elementary hosted a Veterans Day celebration to honor all who served. Colossian Baptist Church prepared a warm and delicious breakfast for students and the important veterans in their lives. It was a wonderful opportunity for families to spend extra time together while celebrating with their parents, grandparents, and family members who served. The morning gathering also gave veterans a chance to browse valuable resources and services specifically available to military families. After breakfast, the entire school lined the hallways waving American flags and cheering as veterans and their families paraded through. And some brave soldiers and sailors even took time to
018visit their child's classroom to read some great stories. And Crittenden Middle School hosted a Veterans Day celebration with talented student musicians and vocalists honoring our military. Heritage High School's JROTC presented the colors before 7th and 8th grade band, choir, and orchestra students took the stage to celebrate our veterans. During a musical medley, each branch of the military was recognized with their official song. While students offered handmade cards to each serviceman to thank them for their bravery and service. Newport News' hometown university continued their tradition of visiting nearby schools to strengthen community. For the fourth time in two years, the Christopher Newport University and Newport News Community Walk visited another Newport News public school. This time, the captains walked to their closest neighboring high school, the Warwick Raiders. From the Ferguson Center for the Arts to
019Copeland Lane. CNU President William Kelly brought 200 friends along for the stroll, including CNU students and staff, elected officials, law enforcement, civic leaders, and community partners. The entourage was greeted by Warwick's NJROTC cadets, band, cheerleaders, student athletes, and representatives of Warwick's dual magnet programs, along with NNPS Superintendent Dr. Michelle Mitchell and school board members. It was a nice return visit for President Kelly and his wife Angie, who spent time this summer volunteering at Warwick alongside CNU's freshman class. Warwick principal Tiffany Thompson welcomed everyone, while she and President Kelly exchanged gifts representing their educational homes. The entire experience highlighted the strong partnership between Newport News Public Schools and CNU. including scholars who bridged their educational journeys through the community captains program. With Raiders and captains coming together, our community celebrated continued academic success for all students.
020How cool is it that three Newport News public schools have received the Purple Star Award? The Virginia Purple Star designation is awarded to military-friendly schools that do an awesome job of supporting military-connected families. This school year, the Virginia Department of Education recognized Katherine Johnson Elementary and Ella Fitzgerald Middle Schools. Fitzgerald is receiving this award for the very first time and Johnson Elementary is receiving the Purple Star Second Award, showing their continued dedication to military families and their students. The third Purple Star School in Newport News is General Stanford Elementary, who earned their Purple Star II award in 2024. These three schools go above and beyond to meet the unique challenges that military-connected children face, including moving often, curriculum gaps, and the stress of our parents being deployed. Through dedicated counselors, special celebrations, military-funded programs, and
021student-led clubs, these schools create a welcoming and supportive learning environment where military-connected students, like me, can thrive academically, socially and emotionally. We provide time for the public to address the school board. These opportunities are scheduled in the early part of our agenda and towards the end of the meeting. As advertised, citizens may submit comments via email up to 30 minutes prior to our meeting time to be included in the official meeting record. For those of you joining us in person, the board considers this an opportunity to listen to your comments. Please understand that we will consider your concerns. We ask that you comply with our three-minute time limit. As you begin your comments, a green light will come on. A yellow light signals that you have 30 seconds remaining, and a red light and beep
022indicates your time is up. As your name is called, please come forward. First up is Reverend Natalie Chamberlain. And following her will be Mrs. Jackie Patterson. Good evening. I'm Reverend Natalie Chamberlain. I'm part of a broad coalition of citizens who have been attending these meetings for two years. I missed last month, and I'm glad to be back. We remain aware that you have no intention of changing policy, J.B.P., but the welfare of the LGBTQIA plus community is vitally important to us. Tonight, I want to share with you part of an interfaith statement that was signed by leaders of nine faith traditions, including my own. It was released on November 12th. It reads, as heads of diverse religious traditions in the United States, our faiths call on us to proclaim that transgender, intersex, and non-binary people
023deserve respect, love, and equal rights. During a time when our country is placing their lives under increasingly serious threat, there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender. A great many of us do. Let it be known instead that our beloveds are created in the image of God, holy and whole. Too many entrusted with positions of power are demonizing transgender people, blaming them for acts of violence and criminalizing their very right to occupy space in our common life. The fear that many transgender children, their families, and their loved ones experience is unacceptable. The drive to limit the ways that transgender, intersex, and non-binary people authentically live their lives by limiting medical care they receive, ignoring and sometimes provoking acts of violence against them, preventing them from
024traveling freely, or keeping them from participating in public activities is a betrayal of our deeply held values as people of faith. As a nation, we have often failed to live up to the ideals of equality and justice that safeguard the foundation of a free society. Yet throughout our history and periods of great struggle and division, people of faith and goodwill have come forward to defend the very values that define American democracy. It is from that religious legacy that we speak today. Our transgender, intersex, and non-binary beloveds offer a singular gift. They invite us to witness our broken world through the knowledge that when we lead in truth and love, nothing is beyond transformation. You should find in front of you the full statement along with the list of people that have signed this as well
025as statements from individual members of those faith communities. As a pastor. and a mother of a transgender child, as well as a member of this community, I will continue to remind you that the transgender, intersex, and non-binary students under your care are every bit as precious as any other child. And I will stand with them, and I hope you will as well. Good evening. My name is Jackie Batterson, and I am a resident of Newport News. I am here again this evening asking that you change the wording in your procedure, J.B.P., which is supposed to correspond to the policy, J.B. This policy states that you will respect and ensure the rights of every child in the Newport News school system. By denying our transgender children the right to be addressed by their chosen names and
026preferred pronouns, you deny them that dignity. Your definition of transgender student neglects a significant number of transgender children. Two weeks ago, there was an election, both here in the Commonwealth and across the country. The Trevor Project, which is a non-profit suicide prevention program for LGBTQ young people, reported during this election cycle $215 million were spent targeting transgender children. Some of these we saw in this state. Of 31 races they followed who used transgender children to frighten voters, all 31 candidates lost. 74% of Americans support transgender rights protections. This country is tired of politicians, shock jocks, and courts using vulnerable minorities to advance their bigoted agendas. This includes immigrant children and their parents. You no longer need to fear repercussions from the current governor or a president more concerned about his bank account than the American
027people. Voters are speaking out. Therefore, tonight, you could direct the superintendent to have the wording changed in the procedure to reflect these children's ability to have their name and gender identity recognized. You have been given examples of wording this past year. As Bruce Springsteen said, learn how to be an informed, active, and engaged citizen. Your country needs you. Love your country, but never fail to be critical when it does not live up to your and its ideals. You can change the course of history. Thank you. Mr. David Brakeman, and he will be followed by Ms. Mary Voss. Good evening, members of the board. Briefly, I'm wearing red for Ed to encourage the board to soon pass a resolution in favor of collective bargaining. Mainly, with the end of Youngkin's administration, I am asking the board
028to soon schedule revisions to procedure JVP, to remove the prohibitions on athletics, to allow counselors to keep more in confidence, and to allow chosen names and pronouns without a note. Definitively establishing the greatest athlete is not the point of school sports. That is something we should defer to championship leagues like the VHSL to define more nuanced criteria for. The point of school sports is to prepare children to be college, career, and citizen ready by providing an avenue for exercise, socialization, and teamwork. For counselors, plenty of other sensitive topics do not require a call home. When a student hasn't trusted a parent or guardian with discussions about identity, that wariness tends to be founded and should be respected. Nicknames are already preferred names that are used without prior written permission. That same respect for trans students'
029preferred names and pronouns, should a teacher choose to offer them, should be permitted on the same basis. Therefore, I am asking the Board to soon schedule revisions to Procedure JPP. Thank you. Mary Voss, an NPS teacher, parent, and graduate. Good evening, Chair, Dr. Best, and members of the board. First, thank you very much for sending out the recent sick leave bank survey and for extending the survey window at the NNEA's request. Your effort to gather employee input is greatly appreciated. However, I wanted to note many employees found some of the parameters of NNPS's proposed sick leave bank to be problematic, and that might explain why fewer employees than expected indicate interest on these surveys. Requiring staff to use 30 of their own days, many of them unpaid, before being able to access the sick leave
030bank is unworkable for many people because they don't have... that many days paid. So if you have nowhere near 30 days available to begin with, then you're going to really be. stressed and out of luck. Comparing this with sick leave banks across Virginia school divisions, no division exceeds the 30-day requirement and many divisions require far less, often 20 days or 10 days or even fewer. That makes 30 days the longest wait time in the state. So that raises the question of how this parameter was chosen. and if a more reasonable access threshold is possible, as is offered in many other divisions such as Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, Chesapeake, Henrico, and Arlington. A sick leave bank would be more effective and would generate more employee participation if its parameters were shaped directly by employee input.
031In addition, I urge the board to consider creating a leave donation program separate from the sick leave bank. Employees facing major medical hardships often cannot pay into a bank that requires them to use some of their own days first. For these employees, donated leave is much more meaningful and much more useful support. At least 10 Virginia school districts already offer leave donation programs, including Williamsburg, Jane City County, Virginia Beach, Fairfax County, and Stafford County. These programs... Programs typically require employees to exhaust their own leave before receiving donations, set reasonable limits on how much leave can be given, and apply only to serious or catastrophic conditions. And NPS employees deserve the same safety net, one that protects them from financial crisis as they are dealing with medical crisis. Finally, I urge the board to fully dismantle
032Governor Youngkin's discriminatory anti-LGBTQ public policies and guidance. The governor is now a complete lame duck after his political allies were soundly defeated in last month's election. There's no reason for the division to continue adhering to harmful, stigmatizing guidance that undermines the safety and dignity of vulnerable students. Every major medical and mental health organization in the United States acknowledges that allowing young people to use their preferred name and pronouns significantly improves their well-being thank you very much for your time and consideration thank you for your comments and thoughts this evening we will now move on to section 3 the consent agenda which includes 3.01 minutes from the closed meeting October 21st 2025 3.02 minutes from the regular meeting October 21st 3.03, minutes from the special meeting, October 23rd, 2025. 3.04, minutes from the special meeting, October
03330th, 2025. Excuse me. 3.05, financial reports, including the revenue and expense reports for October 25 and child nutrition reports. 3.05, the personnel report. 3.06, budget transfer. At this time, can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda? I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. We have a second. Second. Okay, the motion has been approved. The motion has been made and seconded. Any questions or discussion? Ms. Buffalo, please call the roll. Harris. For. Hunter. For. Searles-Law. For. Alger. For. Amen for brown for best for motion carries 7-0 Thank you. We will move to section action items 4.01 new and reviews new and revised policies. Dr. Rogers Yes, thank you. Madam chair members of the board and your meeting last month. Mrs. Brooks provided the board with a presentation on several new
034and revised policies that were related to either instruction, health, or cell phones. We're asking that the board take action on these revised policies and procedures that were shared with you last month, and at this time, Mrs. Brooks is here to answer any questions that you might have before you take the vote. Any questions? Thank you. I have a motion. Madam Chair, I make a motion to approve the policies as presented at last month's meeting. All of them. second that we've heard the motion and it's been second that we approve the policies before us tonight any questions discussion I'm very excited to see these policies implemented and go into action especially the policy regards to advanced mathematics so it is like I mentioned before it is Christmas early for me thank you mr. Brown anyone else
035Miss Buffalo call the roll please Harris for hunter or Searles law or Alger Amen for brown for best for motion carries 7-0 Thank you To section 5 reports and information 5.0 1 the proposed FY 26 legislative program dr. Rogers Thank you again madam chair This evening, Pat Fenneran is going to walk us through our draft 2026 legislative priorities and what we'll be focusing on as we head into the General Assembly session. He'll present key ideas and issues and what comes next for us, and Mr. Fenneran will take just a few minutes to walk us through that information that we need to keep on our radar as we head into the General Assembly. Thank you, Dr. Good evening, Chairman and Dr. Best, Vice Chair Alger, school board members, and members of the audience as well. It
036is that time of year again for the upcoming General Assembly session and legislative issues of importance to the school board. The legislative program is the board's opportunity to convey what you consider key. issues for the 2026 session and the draft program has been posted on board docs for the community to see as well. As in the past, we expect legislators to introduce hundreds of education bills and your leadership and oversight is appreciated as these bills are considered. That's right, here we go. Starting with the General Assembly timeline, you can see that we're about two months away from its start on January 14th. And every two years, the General Assembly drafts a biennial budget, and that will happen during the upcoming session. Known as the budget session, lawmakers will have 60 days to consider the budget
037and many other bills to be introduced. And actually, the governor will actually introduce the budget. He'll present his version of his recommendation for the budget on January 17th. And then starting in January, the General Assembly will consider that and redraft it as they see fit. Of special importance is the date of the veto session there. You can see it's late April. The exact date has not quite been set yet. But that's expected to happen in April. And as usual, the amount of state funding. for our schools will not be known until after the school boards are required to approve your budgets. And I always just like to point that out because it makes it a bit difficult in figuring out how to finalize the budgets for school divisions around the state. So taking a look
038at our 2026 funding issues, I'd like to begin with the perennial issue of school funding. And as we all know, the 2023 JLARC, that's the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report, showed that Virginia schools are dramatically underfunded when compared to the average of other states. And just two years ago, that underfunding was estimated at $1,900 per pupil. So you can figure do the math 26,000 students. It's a lot of money First thing to do though is recognize the good work done by the General Assembly in the past couple of years Our legislators have quickly addressed many of the major recommendations and we applaud the state for the significant steps Taken to address concerns in the jail our report including this past year in which they approved 229 million dollars to address the support staff
039cap and that's helped us with our local staffing. $110 million in per pupil funding for special education and this is over the biennium and not just one year. $52.8 million to fund English language learning, standing staffing standards and the state share of a 6% pay raise over the biennium and also increased funding for at-risk students. And what I'd like to do now is just take a look at the progress that we've made in the K-12 funding timeline. If you look, each block on this chart represents about a year adjusted for inflation, the money amount. As you can see, in about 2010... public education took a great big hit during the Great Recession. It took about 14 years to get back into a posture where we're above that line in terms of adjusted revenue. Then in
0402020-23 or so we broke that great recession low, broke through the great recession lows, but we're still really not where we need to be because we went through again 14 years of being funded lower than we had been in 2010, again adjusted for inflation. So moving forward your school board legislative program addresses a lot of issues that affect this. Plenty still remains to be done to correct Virginia's funding shortfall, including things like teacher pay. And despite pay raises, we cannot overlook the continuing issue that Virginia teacher pay is still below the national average. NMPS recommends that the General Assembly bring salaries to the national average or above during the next two years. Calculating salary and other cost adjustments is also a recommendation. Updating how we do that is a recommendation in the JLARC report. Right
041now it's done on a weighted average that actually underestimates actual salaries and keeps them lower than usual, lower than actual. Another recommendation is to change the local composite index. That's how... we get that's a formula through which school divisions get most of their funding through basic aid and change it from looking at a single year of data then changing it if the local composite index goes up or down and you can lose or gain significant amount of money by that but changing it to a three-year average and that would smooth out any changes that happen to occur over those years. A similar recommendation which was just brought to us by one of our board members is to use a three-year average for support programs as well such as the K-3 reduced classroom size which can
042become ineligible. the free and reduced lunch percentage drops for just one year and so that school could just fall out of that program altogether. Another recommendation, we'll just drop down, is to ensure that requirements for the Virginia Literacy Act, and this is a new position in here as well, are funded past the initial startup period. The Virginia Literacy Act was a major piece of legislation and wide-ranging reform of how literacy is taught and learned. And they provided funding for the first couple of years for that, but that funding is drying up. We need to make sure that if the state wants this program to keep going forward. We'd like them to provide a funding stream that continues this into the future. And finally, we get to re-benchmarking. This, again, is a biennial issue. Every time
043the full budget is addressed in a biennial manner, the state looks at how... the things that they fund, such as standards of quality, enrollment, salary, support costs, inflation, and other factors. And they just simply adjust those according to what the actual costs should be or are. The estimated cost for this year for the biennium to fully fund the re-benchmarking is about $950 million. Again, that's over the biennium. So those are some of the key. financial issues and funding issues that we're looking at in this General Assembly. Other issues. That are in this legislative program are to adjust the school of performance and support framework last year the school board asked that the General Assembly delay implementation of the new Virginia Board of Education school performance and support framework, which would make a lot of changes
044to the way Accountability is enacted in in Virginia The new a new proposal also came about this past summer to increase cut scores to pass the SOL and we think that needs additional review again. Fortunately, the Virginia Board of Education saw some wisdom in delaying this as well and they've already announced just last week that they are looking to delay this till next year and so I'm not going to go through all of the items under here that we've talked about in the past but good news is that they recognize the importance of waiting and getting the system right before it's put in place. So there are also a couple of other key continuing positions to highlight and that's one we touched on earlier. School facilities are aging. And need both state support through local
045grants options such as the optional revenue plan that nine localities currently enjoy and these localities have the option to put on a referendum for a public vote Whether or not to increase sales tax by up to 1% for a specific amount of time in a specific project And right now nine localities in Virginia have that their General Assembly approved it last year, I think twice in the past four years, but it's been vetoed at the end of the session every time. So we're hoping that that will have a better chance of getting through this year. Finally, technology costs continue to rise, and the need to go, you know... following the need to go to one-to-one access for students during the pandemic. Right now, this technology cost is about $2 million a year to maintain access
046for all students, including computers, internet access, and support staff. And there's been discussion in the General Assembly about creating a more dedicated... Funding path for this and we want to just keep that on the on the front burner so that they know that this One-to-one access is not going to go away and we will continue to have rising costs for our technology needs for our students And finally, next steps, just to share a draft program at the Take Your Legislator to School Day on December 2nd. And I'll actually, unless there's any objections before then, I will actually send this out to our legislators to give them a quick look before the legislator day on December 2nd. This will be an action item at the December 16th board meeting. So if there are changes or requests
047to review this some more, I'd be happy to. talk with any of you, and then to support the legislative program during the 2026 General Assembly session, of course. That will include weekly reports and probably daily calls back to the school division. So if you have any questions or comments, now's your time. Thank you, Mr. Fitterman. Great job, as usual. Well, thank you very much. Have a nice night. Exciting. Thank you. We will now move to Section 5, Reports and Information 5.02 for the FY26-27 course proposal. Dr. Rogers. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. This evening, Mr. Darrell Pankratz, who is our Executive Director of Secondary Teaching and Learning. He's been leading our efforts division-wide to strengthen our secondary pathways, expanding rigorous coursework, and ensuring that our programs align with student interests, including
048graduation requirements as well as post-secondary opportunities. So this evening, he will review the course proposals as well as the revisions to include advanced placement, international baccalaureate, world language, Korean technical education, and some... Pretty exciting opportunities for dual enrollment pathways. So I'll turn it over now to Mr. Pankratz. All right, well, good evening, Madam Chair Best, or Dr. Best, Vice Chair Miss Alger, school board members, Dr. Rogers. Tonight, I will share new course proposals, a new pathway, a revision for your review, and approval for the 26-27 school year. This evening, I'll present six new course proposals, a new course pathway, and two course revisions. So let's start with the new course proposals. The first new course proposal is AP Precalculus. This will offer students the equivalent of the first semester of college, Precalculus. By adding this
049course, we broaden our advanced learning pathways in NNPS, and students will have the opportunity to earn college credit. The course prerequisite is Algebra II and will run as a year-long course. The AP Precalculus course would cost approximately $200 per student to include hard copy text with aligned digital access. In addition, AP exam fees for all students enrolled and AP institutes for the teachers who would be teaching this course. And the course would be offered at all of our comprehensive high schools in the division. In addition, we would offer the next proposed course of English 10 Seminar Advanced Placement. The course uses an inquiry framework where students learn to engage and analyze a variety of sources, including articles and research studies, literary and philosophical text, speeches, broadcast, artistic works, and performances. The course would run as
050a year-long course as well, and the prerequisite is English 9. The course will provide students the opportunity to take an AP-level course at the 10th grade level in the discipline of English. English 10 seminar AP would incur a cost of the $100 exam fee per students enrolled and about a $500 Cost for AP teacher institutes as well and the course would be offered at all of our comprehensive high schools as well the next course proposal is Spanish in action community engagement This course would serve as the capstone course for the students who are currently enrolled in our dual language program at Medsville High School During the first semester students would experience an advanced curriculum centered around advanced communication and professional Spanish. During the second semester students would be immersed in the elementary dual language classroom
051to provide mentoring and small group instruction support. The course would conclude with a capstone project and portfolio and the course would be for 12th graders only again in that dual language immersion program at Mitchville High School. Our current Our current DoDEA grant would help to support the program and cover the cost of all the instructional materials needed. In addition, a white bus would be used to transport students to the elementary school during the second semester. The course would be provided at Menchville, like I mentioned previously, for all of our current 11th grade DLI programs and again would serve as their capstone as they finish out in 12th grade. Another course that we're proposing is American Sign Language. American Sign Language at the secondary level reflects NNPS commitment to providing diverse and equitable language learning opportunities
052that prepare students for global citizenship and career readiness. ASL is one of the fastest growing world language courses in the United States and it fulfills the world language requirement for the state of Virginia and for college admissions. The course would run as a year-long course, and we would eventually have levels one through four, but would start with level one next year. Funding needed for the ASL course is approximately $100 per student to cover the textbook and curriculum cost. In addition, a certified ASL teacher would also need to be hired at schools where student interest is evident. We would like to start this at our middle school programs, just like we have with Spanish and German and French. In addition, we would like to propose IB Sports, Exercise, and Health Science as another new course proposal.
053This course emphasizes scientific inquiry through laboratory work, data analysis, and independent research. Students apply theoretical knowledge to real-world context in sport exercise and wellness, and they develop critical thinking, collaboration, and ethical awareness while doing so. The course would also be a year-long course and would start in grade 11 with the SL1 and continue to grade 12 with the SL2. And the prerequisite for this course would be the pre-IB chemistry. The cost associated with this course would be about $3,400. This would include needed textbooks and online access to curriculum components, as well as additional lab equipment needed for instruction. A current IB teacher could teach the course, but would need to attend IB training for the specific subject. And this course would, of course, be offered at our IB program at Warwick High School. Lastly, I'm
054proposing the Middle School Computer Science Elective Course. The course will incorporate the 2024 Computer Science Standards of Learning released from the Virginia Department of Education. This class will engage students through hands-on learning and can be offered as a semester course for 6th grade and a year-long option for 7th and 8th grade students. The course would not need any additional funding. The district already has the equipment needed and software license to implement the course curriculum. And it's important to note that this course would be a pilot for the 2026-2027 school year at Crittenden, which is our STEM magnet for the middle school, with the intention to roll out to all middle schools the following year. All other middle schools will be receiving the incorporated computer science standards in their other core and elective courses until they
055would get this elective as well. In addition to the new course proposals, I also want to talk about a new course pathway. NMPS is committed to providing advanced learning opportunities to all students. We currently offer dual enrollment courses at all of our high schools and are seeking other opportunities to increase our course offerings. We currently have seven teachers enrolled in our dual enrollment pathway to teaching higher education or a depth program at Christopher Newport University, obtaining the required courses to be able to offer dual enrollment biology for the next school year. In addition, we are actively helping teachers with master's degrees in their subject area get approved with Virginia Peninsula Community College so that they will be endorsed to teach dual enrollment courses next year as well. The previously mentioned steps are also in alignment
056to offer the uniform certificate of general studies, which allows students to earn up to 32 college credits that are all fully transferable. The program will be initiated through the University Magnet Program at Heritage High School and will set the foundation for us to work with BPCC to offer associate degree pathways. And finally, we have two course revisions up for proposal as well. As part of our therapeutic health science strand at the Governor's Health Science Academy at Warwick High School, our senior level course would be changed from Nurse Aid 2 to Patient Care Technician. The state changed the requirements for the Nurse Aid course, which now allows for the completion of the course in one school year. To complete the four-year pathway, we are introducing patient care technician based on state recommendations, which will provide students
057the opportunity to obtain a patient care technician certification and a certified nursing assistant certificate. In addition, the game design pathway at Heritage Governor's STEM Academy would change from the current course to a game design 1 and 2 course to better align with industry standards and course competencies. The change to the new courses would allow students to build skills and will acquire a high-demand Unity Programmer certification, which will help in future job opportunities for those students. Finally, we are finishing the complete revision of our course guide or program of studies, which is now a comprehensive and dynamic program of studies online tool. We have streamlined the structure of the course guide, simplifying the layout and organization, which makes it easier for students and families to navigate. Clear pathways and concise information will enhance usability and empower
058students to make informed choices about their education. Shown on the screen is a snippet of what the program of studies looks like at the class level and notice it lists the course description, prerequisites, and grade levels. And in addition, if you notice on the right, you can download this as a PDF. This gives the opportunity to print just for that course or the entire program of studies book that's on the online platform. The new program of studies includes updated information about magnet and specialty programs, dual enrollment opportunities, advanced placement offerings, as well as pathways for specific student interest. Lastly, the program of studies provides resources for academic and career planning through enhanced counseling tools, and students will have the resources they need to set goals, explore interests, and plan their pathways. This will prepare them
059not only for academic success, but also for meaningful careers and lifelong learning. In summary, the revision of our program of studies creates a program of studies that meets the needs for all of our students and community. And thank you for allowing me to present the new course proposals, new course pathways, and course pathway revisions, and I stand ready to answer any questions. Mr. Boyle. Okay, so on the pre-calculus course, are all the students... taking the AP exam or is it to be optional for the class? So as of right now with all of our other AP courses we ask and require students to take the AP exam in that course. Okay great. Yes, ma'am two questions one how does that compare with say math analysis which is your traditional pre calculus class And then I
060have a question on the ASL. Absolutely. So the honors math analysis course is the course that we've had For many years and if you look at every division pretty much around us They've replaced honors math analysis with the AP pre calculus course So it would be the same course now have the opportunity to take an AP course. Would we phase out the math analysis? That would be the plan, yes. So that way they would have the AP opportunity. And curriculum-wise, it's the same course, right? It's very close. It's the same math. Very similar, yes, sir. And then I had a question on ASL, which I think is wonderful, because I know certain students with certain learning challenges, that's going to be an easier foreign language than others. Is the vision to be able to get
061to, like, three years of it so you could get an advanced diploma with ASL and possibly get a certificate to even be able to interpret? Absolutely. So we are still investigating all of that as well. The actual vision would be able to get all the way up to level four for ASL. And then yes, they would receive some type of certificate if they were able to finish all four levels. And will it be included in the, when you take your variety pack or elective wheel in middle school, if that's what you do, will it be included in the introduction to foreign languages or would that be separate? That would be separate. They would start taking it in either seventh or eighth grade, depending on how they do it with the single or double block, and
062then progress through high school to finish the other levels. Ms. Rosal? Just had a question about the patient care technician. I think it was lost on me that there was certifications that they received for nurse aid one and two. Yes, ma'am. So now they will receive nurse aid one and then a patient care component. Is the nurse aid 2 still available or is that kind of rolled into the patient care? And I apologize if I didn't explain that correctly. So the nurse aid 2 has actually rolled into the nurse aid 1 and so nurse aid 1 and 2 is now just nurse aid 1. And so that's why we need to add the next course to be able to give a complete sequence for the students. So by adding the course, we're actually going to
063get them an extra certificate that they can achieve now as well. Okay. And then my other question, it's regarding the game design pathways. And you're getting game design one and two in our new courses. And where is modeling and simulation going to fall? So modeling and simulation would be replaced with game design 2. It has a lot of the same components of the course. The state has changed the actual course pathway with now calling them game design 1 and game design 2. And leading through that, that's when students would now have the opportunity to get the high demand Unity programmer certification once they complete game design 2. And basically the information from the state also this aligns much better with industry So whatever students would leave from us and want to go into this field
064they would have a much clearer Understanding of what our students have done. Well, that's something that I would definitely want I know that things go along with their transcript as to a description of the course because Specifically what caught my attention is if we're losing the modeling and simulation moniker. I know like Jefferson Lab. NASA they look for modeling and simulators understand and so that will be really important for the game design to be clear that we're still getting the digital animation as well as the modeling and simulation absolutely transferability I'm sorry to interrupt absolutely we have started working on the course description and making sure that we include the information so that way people would be able to notice that as well And that the students know it, too. Absolutely. Yes, ma'am. Because when
065they fill out their applications for internships, they're going to need that. Yes, ma'am. All right. Ms. Harris? I had a question about the English 10 advanced placement. I was just having a conversation with Dr. Mitchell about a public speaking elective. I believe she said they had it in the past, and they were. considering having it perhaps next year, but my eyes fell on the right speak and critically think description portion. So how much of that public speaking piece would be gathered in the curriculum in this particular course? Honestly, I don't know the breakdown of percentages. I'm happy to supply that to you They would have to cover the English 10 curriculum and then what what I mentioned in here would be the additional components of what it makes it the AP course I just don't
066have the breakdown but I'm happy to send it to you Yes, ma'am. Just for clarification, is AP research included in AP seminar or are those two different classes? No, so AP research is a different course. And that, to be honest, we're still seeking more clarification with College Board before we put that up for a course proposal. All right, thank you. Anyone else? I have a question. Yes, ma'am. Regarding the associate degree pathway. So you said they can get up to 32 hours is that so essentially we'll be starting with what they call the uniform certificate of general studies Which is what Virginia Peninsula Community College offers and that is up to 32 course hours or credits With the plan to build with V PCC on to to create the associates degree pathway So the initial
067is the UC GS certificate and then it'll build to the 60 64 hours needed for the associate degree pathway. Yes, it's yes 64 hours So how many years before we get to the 64 hours? So essentially Students could start taking two courses next or not next year the year following as tenth graders And then they would complete an 11th and 12th grade year So we're about two years out from starting at the 10th grade level and students would start with the College for Success course and a public speaking course and then they would progress further from there. Yes, ma'am. Just because I've seen it in early college, how do you do that with the high school requirements as far as 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade English? Do they take those packed into a semester?
068So they would still take their 9th and 10th grade courses as normal, regular courses. And then the 11th grade dual enrollment option actually breaks into a year-long course, but it's the two semesters that they would normally get in the college. It accounts for English at college and yes, and it would it would fulfill all of our requirements for graduation at our level plus the college requirements Any other questions? Thank you. Thank you very much moving on to 5.03 the attendance report 5.04 membership report and 5.05 construction report board members you've received a copy of this report. Are there any questions? Hearing none, we'll move on to item 5.06, comments by the superintendent. Dr. Rogers. Thank you again, Madam Chair. The Christopher Newport University and Newport News Community Walk visited Warwick High School on October 31st,
069Halloween. We had a wonderful visit with the CNU president, William Kelly, as well as with his wife, Angie, that morning. And Warwick High School was a fantastic host. And in fact, a 2023 graduate of Warwick High School who's now a part of the CNU Community Captains Program spoke about her experiences there. We want to thank CNU for being a great hometown university as well as a great neighbor. And also we want to congratulate all of our fall middle and high school sports teams for their successful seasons. And I want to particularly congratulate Warwick High School's cross country runner, Arianna Logsdon, who won the Class 5 Individual Girls State Championship. And this past Saturday, our One City Fall Family Fest was held on November 15th and kicked off our One City Reads effort that officially started
070with the book title Reveals Yesterday. You all got a copy of those, and the students are incredibly excited about it. They have t-shirts. Mr. Pankratz was dressed as... the superhero some of y'all may have seen him in his yellow boots and gloves on saturday and we're encouraging everyone in newport news and the city of newport news to join us in reading the one and only ivan for our elementary students as well as framed for our middle school students between now and december 19th And we'd like to thank everyone around the city who has pitched in to support us and be involved in this project to promote reading at all ages. Now I'd like to share some upcoming calendar events. Mitchville High School will host a mega on-site college and career night. tomorrow, November 19th with
071on-site college and career exploration, financial aid support, as well as college and university acceptances. So families, please bring your students out to support that. And I would like to remind all about, excuse me, Woodside High School's Center for the Arts and Communications Dance Magnet Program will be performing a reimagined A reimagination of Swan Lake entitled Black Swan, White Swan. Performances will be held for the general public on November 20th as well as the 21st at 7 o'clock p.m. in Woodside's auditorium. The cost is $7 for general administration, general admission tickets, and those are available online. And I'd like to remind all families that schools will be closed for students on Wednesday through Friday. November 26th through 28th and all offices will be open on a half day schedule on Wednesday, November 26th. And Dr. Mitchell
072wanted me to make sure that I shared that she is encouraging everyone to spend some time with your family and friends and take some time to relax and recharge. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. And this concludes my comments, Madam Chair. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now move on to item six another opportunity to hear from the public. We do have one additional card Dr. James graves As president of Newport News Education Association the NNEA request that the Newport School Board request Item line budget to access City Council for collective bargaining funding We believe if you ask them for the funding, since they're already in the Collective Bargaining Task Force, they already have their report with the Finance Committee. We ask you just to ask them for a line-out of budget. If they say no, then we
073know where we need to go. But if they say yes, then we're on our way to making collective bargaining where it's supposed to be. I ask you, before the budget comes out, to make sure that you ask City of New Panoo City Council. for line item budget for collective bargaining for all our New Panoo's public school employees and staff. Thank you very much. Thank you. We will now begin with matters by the school board, and we will begin with our student representative. Thank you. The superintendent student rights group met for the first time a few weeks ago with students representing all of our high schools. We shared standard meeting norms and discussed procedures that were going well at our schools along with ideas that we proposed for positive change. We also discussed plans for the
074future and future meeting topics and our next meeting is December 10th. I'm also looking forward to attending the student representative to the school board session tomorrow during the Virginia School Boards Association's annual convention. And I'm excited to not only represent Menchville, but Newport News. Thank you guys all for coming out tonight, and I hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving break next week. Thank you. Mr. Hunter? Thank you, Ms. Chairwoman. I just want to say there's great things happening in Newport News Public Schools. from the budgets, from the items that we approved tonight to the one city read fair that I could not find a parking spot to drive around twice, the turnout, so I'm gonna give a shout out to the family engagement team and all those who helped to put that together. Again,
075this past. Saturday again they had the annual achievable dreams tennis ball that was well attended again thank you for those folks to coming out as well and I'm just excited to hear about this sign language something that you know I'd be interested in learning you know and and I hope that listening to all those things that our students could possibly participate I hope that those who cannot afford it that your schools will find a way that the impediment of not being able to afford the fee to get into one of those programs that we will cover the cost that being said and you have a nice thanksgiving thank you miss amos sure um i'll keep it short and sweet um Like Gary said, there are great things happening. You highlighted a lot of them. It
076was great to experience middle school sports firsthand this year and watch the citywide championships. Both the ladies and the guys were just a high level of play at the middle school level. So that's been really neat to see the engagement gets the kids really connected to their schools, which is wonderful. And other than that, just everybody have a great Thanksgiving break. Thank you. Mr. Brown? All right. I will echo that. There are a lot of great things happening in Newport News Public Schools. I echo that tonight. Like I mentioned, Christmas came early. We have advanced mathematics for all of our students. We are taking steps forward with our cell phone policy. That's going to be very beneficial, I believe, to the mental health of our students to taking care of helping them to grow and
077develop the kind of social skills that they're going to need to compete in the 21st century. So a lot of really wonderful things. We've got the annual convention, which starts tomorrow. So that's where, of course, I'll be looking forward to seeing you all there. And Ms. Leggett, looking forward to seeing you there at the opening session as well. And I know that the student reps, they do a lot and they actually get a lot out of the conference. So I'm sure you're very much looking forward to that and looking forward to hearing about your experience at the conference, at the convention. So many wonderful things are going on with our schools. We talk about middle school sports and how beneficial and how productive and effective that has been, I believe, in connecting students to the
078community and to their schools and connecting them to friendships and friend groups that they're going to be able to carry forward into high school and potentially learning some things that help them with fitness for the rest of their lives. which is that's what's really critically important for the students. Then lastly, I will leave you with, so I didn't promise to be brief, so you all can just relax. But I will wrap it up in that I have been reflecting quite a bit lately on... Math education, of course, which you all know is my passion, but as well with the skills that students are going to need to have to be competitive in the new job market where we talk constantly about AI replacing us. And as someone who is working with AI every day, I'm...
079very aware or very much considering that and thinking about that. So in thinking about what skills students need in order to be AI proof for this day and age, it's actually symbolic literacy. So we talk about literacy a lot in education and students learning to read. One of the things that's really critically important for students to be able to read in order for us to have the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, et cetera, is symbolic literacy. And without symbolic literacy, students can't actually read a college textbook. and there are so many students that I encounter, young folks who can't read a college textbook, and it's because they don't have the symbolic literacy. And symbolic literacy really is teaching abstract thinking and the ability to actually read equations and actually be able to read
080a textbook so you can study mathematics and study engineering principles. And, of course, I thought about it a lot, and I even asked ChatGBT. Do you, does ChatGPT agree with me? And ChatGPT actually, here's what ChatGPT said. Said, symbolic literacy is one of the most important tools we have for telling when AI is wrong. In a world where artificial intelligence can generate elegant equations and confident explanations, students must be able to read and interpret the symbols for themselves. AI can manipulate formulas, but it cannot guarantee that the symbols match the situation, the logic, or the underlying mathematics. Only a human with symbolic literacy can check assumptions, spot inconsistencies, and recognize when an argument does not follow. Without this skill, we are forced to trust the machine blindly. With it, we can collaborate intelligently with AI,
081using its power while still exercising our own judgment. Symbolic literacy isn't just a math skill, it's a safeguard for truth and is in an AI-rich world. In the words of ChatGPT. Okay. As the machine says. So I'm laying that out tonight, just that I've been thinking about this for the last year or so, and I'm going to continue to try to give more meat to this bone because it's something that we don't teach right now in K-12, and I think it is an important bridge to connecting students to this AI world and something that we're really going to need to be thinking about as a whole education system going forward. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Mr. Oswald. Well, I wasn't going to pick up right there, but I think I will continue with what Mr. Brown
082did mention, and he's talking about students. We need that in the classroom for professional development for teachers as well. And I know that... around the commonwealth that is one of the areas of professional development that's developing for teachers and i encourage us to be able to get onto that bandwagon to equip our teachers to be in the classroom with our students and helping them understand how to use ai how to do prompting how to have a a framework to understand what they are What they're learning the question that I get or the comment that I get from the teachers is well We don't have a school board policy yet on on AI. And we're headed that way. We're working with Virginia School Board Association and so forth to make sure that we're in the right
083vein for that. But I hadn't thought of even mentioning that today. So thank you very much for that. What I did want to mention was the excitement over us approving policies that are germane to the things that are important to help educate our students. So if you look at the suite of policies that we had. this time anything from safety drills to heat and safety protections while students are playing sports to overdose issues making sure that they're safe in the classroom with cell phones and so forth I'm just glad we're doing this work I'm glad we are giving it the thought that it needs and then to enjoy hearing Pat Finneran's positions that the school board supports for the legislative comments for the state it is about the nitty-gritty of those here right here in
084Newport News but the way that we affect that change is also at the state level. And so that's gonna be a big focus of what we're gonna hear at the conference tomorrow. And so we'll all be, the next three days, going to sessions and trying to bring back all the goodness that we can use for our students. So thank you. And Ms. Harris. So to ditto that sort of culture of safety. and education and advocacy. They call me the Energizer Bunny. Yes, we do. But really, I take the opportunity to plug in. to the families and the communities that we serve at the multitude of events and stuff that I go to so that when we get those platforms to advocate and to create policy, it makes sense and it's going to impact the people
085that it needs to impact. So it was a busy month. I want to thank Tiffany Boyle for inviting me to, I hope it's okay to say represent the school board, with the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Drive that happened at Anderson's earlier this week. And we were able to collect a plethora of non-perishable food items that will go to the Peninsula Food Bank that will help local families and food pantries around Hampton Roads. I also was able to attend the Newport News Behavioral Health Center Partial Hospitalization Day Program. program grand opening and that will support our children and adolescents with mental health challenges. Also to Gloves on the Coast, a mental health. Fitness clinic a mental health event and fitness clinic I think empathetic solutions and Jerry Forrest for inviting me to that that happened at
086Demby Community Center where there was a plethora of resources for citizens to to collect Also to the NAACP annual gala honoring congressman Bobby Scott and Joni Ivey Myself and several of my colleagues were able to partake in that as well. Breakfast with Moms was really a mom thing, but I went to support my son at Ella Fitzgerald, and that is an event that the community, family and community engagement team puts on each year at different locations, and it has grown. I remember attending my first one maybe about 20. 30 moms in the room. There were well over 20 or 30 moms in the room at this gathering. So just... Know that the fluttering around is really not in vain. It really is so I can see experience touch No plug in to the people that
087I you know, I hope that I am Representing and advocating for and and doing it in such a way that your voice is being heard through this vessel. So Thanks Thank you. So I'm trying not to What's that Gary? Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Alger. I do apologize. I do apologize. It's your turn. No. No, that's okay. That's okay. I, first of all, want to say thank you to everyone. And one of the things I wanted to share on Veterans Day, I was so touched. by the work from the Rotary Club along with the staff from Warwick High School and how they had a whole event and actually carried flags. And I don't know if you pass through the corridor of Warwick past the high school, you see all those flags that are lined up. They
088represent a hero, and each of those flags have been donated by someone in honor of a hero that they know. And I thought, what a great way to honor our veterans. So I really want to thank our community for including our schools, because I think that when our students see that, they see the part of the real work and the importance of it. I also want to make a comment regarding the dual language immersion program, the courses that are being offered, as well as the ASL. I'm a big proponent of bilingualism and also biliteracy, biculturalism, whatever term you use. But the whole idea of... You know, building our competency as far as our language is so important. And I think it's important as far as problem solving, you know, better decision making. And I think
089understanding just diverse perspectives. And I want to thank the, you know, really the push for that, because that's needed now more than ever. So I appreciate that so much. And, of course, the last thing is I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. It is a meaningful time of gratitude and reflection, and I hope that all of us have some, you know, someone that we can go to to say just simply thank you. And I want to thank my team for working so closely together to make sure that we're doing great things for our division. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, now it's my turn. So I share with you I think the last two school board meetings that I had actually I'm responsible for getting my great nieces and nephews on the bus But I'm
090happy to report for this cycle. I have not they have not missed the bus because of me So I'm happy to report that first of all, I'm excited about the reading across the city I had an opportunity to be at the family fest also at the community center and they were giving away free books and the kids were so look what I got they were so excited about getting books and reading and So I'm excited about that and had I had an opportunity to take my two chapters today that I'm responsible for That was quite an adventure, but I'll tell you about that in person, but I was reading to my great-niece I try to read to them every opportunity that I get and I apologize for not recalling the name of the librarian at
091Watkins Early Childhood Center. But after we were done, she said, aunt Titi, he said to read it twice. I was like, I'm not reading this twice. It's like nine o'clock at night. But I was excited because she was excited about reading. So let's keep that excitement going about reading. We have a book tonight, board members, critical discourse analysis in education. and we're excited about reading this as well right board members so good job with the reading I want to give a shout out to Menchville High School and Heritage High School, ROTC, Black Horse for representing us in the community at the Community Services Board Breakfast and at the NAACP Banquet. They're doing a fantastic job. And then also I just want to say thank you to all of the coaches again, athletes, band directors, for
092all of these people when I drive throughout the city and it's Fridays and Saturdays and they are out here. above and beyond school hours working with our students so i just wanted to let them know we see you and we appreciate you and also as we celebrate american education week shout out to discovery stem had an opportunity to read to students there today and had a good time as well And I just encourage you for this Thanksgiving break to be thankful. If you have anybody to break bread with, be thankful. And if you don't, invite somebody and break bread or invite yourself. You can come with me if you need to. And just break bread and get a little rest and be safe out there. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.