School Board Meeting: March 17, 2015

001I call to order the March 17, 2015 regular meeting of the school board. And on behalf of all the members here, I'd like to welcome those in the audience as well as those who are watching online. We welcome each of you to the meeting. And tonight we're going to have a public hearing at 7 o'clock for the board to consider. and move for adoption of our budget for next year. So we'll proceed through our agenda, but at 7 o'clock we're going to move to the public hearing and conduct that, and then we'll come back to our wherever we were at 7 o'clock. So there will be several opportunities to talk tonight. If you came and you wanted to talk about the budget. then that will be conducted in the public hearing portion where we offer

002an opportunity for comments. If you came tonight and you wanted to talk about some other topic, then we'll take that up in the regular public audience section of the meeting under section two of our agenda. Do want to make some comments fill out a card like this and they're outside and get them over here to miss Hinton who's sitting at this table and And then we'll know to call you in the appropriate time so We have a quorum tonight Everybody's present to do the business of the school board. So let's proceed before we move on to the agenda items which our custom is to have some fine and shining examples of Newport News public school students open the meeting with pledge and an invocation and tonight we have We have just that group from Booker

003T Washington Middle School with us. So I would like to welcome Katie Nunez and Summerlin Braxton who are both eighth graders at Booker T. Katie is going to deliver the invocation first and then Summerlin is going to come forward and lead us through the pledge. Don't be nervous. and show us what leadership at the eighth grade looks like. So Katie, if you'd come forward and lead us through the invocation. Washington. This one's for Southeastern Virginia . And in honor of today being St. Patrick's Day, I'm going to read you an Irish blessing. May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with the joy that long endures. May all life's passing seasons bring

004the best to you and yours. Thank you, Katie. Summerlin, if you'd come and tell us a little bit about yourself. Ask us to rise and lead us through the pledge. I'm the eighth grade vice president of the Student Council Association, and I am a member of the National Junior Honor Society. And may you please stand for the pledge to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Summerlin. Thank you, Katie. And I'd like everybody to give them a round of applause. It takes a lot of guts to get up in front of any group. And the earlier you do that in your life, the earlier you find out

005that people listen and that you can make a contribution. So thank you for making that contribution tonight. And I'd like to recognize... The family members who brought these fine young ladies with us tonight, if they would stand and we can give them a round of applause. As well as Principal Callender and members from the Booker T. Washington School. Let's give them a round of applause. My daughter went to that school and she really, really loved that experience. Thank you both. All right. I believe next we move on to board recognitions. We do, and tonight we have two very special experts who we're lucky enough to have as part of our Newport News employee family, and they are being honored for really going way, way above and beyond. So we're going to hear their stories. So

006this prize is going to help us, and we'll go down front. Good evening. Tonight I'm pleased to present this month's recognitions. The Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition is a nonprofit organization that supports school systems, teachers, parents, and students in achieving and sustaining excellence in STEM mathematics, science, engineering, and technology education. Each year, the coalition recognizes effective student and teacher educational programs through its Programs That Work award. The coalition solicits, reviews, and recognizes exemplary programs that have a positive impact on students or teacher learning. This year, Newport News Public Schools earned a 2015 Programs That Work Award from the Coalition for its iSTEM Innovation Institute, a series of instructional courses for teachers. Tonight, we acknowledge Tammy Byron for her efforts in developing the iSTEM Innovation Institute. Ms. Byron, please come forward. Ms. Byron is the school

007division's National Institute of Aerospace Educator in Residence and STEM Specialist. The ISTEM Innovation Institute was selected as one of 10 programs from across the state to receive this award in recognition of its impact in STEM education. The Institute is a series of four classes for teachers which builds progressively from introducing the foundations of STEM and real-world applications to STEM instruction across all content areas. Nearly 50 teachers are participating in the Institute this year. Ms. Byron received the 2015 Programs That Work Award during a special open house and awards reception in Richmond in January. The Institute is part of the school division's aggressive STEM education initiative. And Ms. Byron, do you have anyone joining you this evening? You have some of your colleagues. I have my curriculum and development colleagues. Would you please stand and be

008acknowledged? Thank you for joining her this evening. Thank you, and again, congratulations on earning this award. Tonight, we're also pleased to recognize another educator who has earned national certification. Receiving national certification is a symbol of excellence in teaching and professional growth. Our next honoree will not only strengthen her profession, but will also assist in increasing academic achievement and rigor in the classroom. Please join me in recognizing National Board Certified Teacher, Christine Wilson. Ms. Wilson earned certification in English language arts adolescent and young adulthood. She's an English teacher at Warwick High School. She's been an educator for 10 years, although she just joined the Newport News family this year. So we're happy to have you as part of our team. National Board certification is the highest credential in the teaching profession. The certification process usually takes

009between one and three years to finish. Ms. Wilson successfully completed the assessment process by preparing a career portfolio of good teaching practices, student work, and multimedia examples. and she passed an extensive series of rigorous written exercises. Joining her tonight are members of her family. Would you please stand to be acknowledged? Thank you so very much. And I'd also like to acknowledge the presence of her principal, Anthony Frazier, and the other members of the administrative team for Warwick High School. Thank you. Ms. Wilson, again, congratulations on this well-deserved honor. You're welcome. Last month was School Board Appreciation Month in Virginia, but unfortunately last month's school board meeting was canceled because of our snow event. So this evening, each of our school board members has a certificate of honor from the Virginia School Boards Association at his

010or her seat in recognition of their commitment and service on behalf of the students, staff, and citizens of Newport News and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Last month, we were also planning to acknowledge our school board clerks, Patrick Fenneran and Kim Hinton, during school board clerk appreciation week. course we had our snow event so tonight mr. Finner and miss Hinton also have certificates at their seats thanking them for their service to the school board and Newport News Public Schools would you please join me in a round of applause thanking our school board and our school vision club belated but well-deserved The school board will take about an eight minute break so that our honorees and their families may leave if they choose to do so. During that time, our viewing audience will have an opportunity to

011view this month's school board spotlight. So we'll stand in recess for about eight minutes. Thank you. Students at Newsome Park Elementary are learning valuable skills that will stick with them the rest of their life. Select fifth grade students in the Duct Tape Club are growing academically and socially through this engaging opportunity. Newsome Park's math interventionist, Jackie Barber, received the idea from a fellow teacher who witnessed a duct tape club in action at Nelson Elementary. After receiving donated funds through DonorsChoose.org to purchase supplies and a locking cash box, the club was ready to start rolling in December of 2014 with a 10-student team. Three days a week, the Duct Tape Club opens their store for customers. As students begin their day at Newsome Park, they are welcome to visit the store on the way to their

012home room to browse and purchase a variety of customized school supplies. Pencils, notebooks, bookmarks, pencil pouches, and water bottles are just a few of the items the Duct Tape Club has decorated. And if a customer doesn't find what they're looking for, they can place custom orders since such a wide assortment of duct tape styles are now available. Teachers and entire grades have placed large orders to use as performance incentives to support grade-wide reading initiatives and to help celebrate holidays and seasons. After closing up shop for the day, the members team up to complete their daily tasks. Counting the daily sales, checking inventory, creating new items, fulfilling custom orders, and loving every minute of the process. Throughout the entire experience, students are using math skills as they count money, offer back exact change to their customers,

013and factor their supply and demand needs. They also develop communication and collaboration skills through their customer interactions and team engagement. To support increased demand, the club is able to use money from daily sales to replenish their arsenal of colorful duct tape rolls. Newsome Park staff and even district administrators generously donate rolls whenever they see a unique duct tape design. And in less than two months, the club is already saving their profits to help out the school by purchasing library books, new school supplies for students in need, additional uniform items, and to support school-wide events and initiatives. Through this unique club, students harness their creativity and math skills as they work collaboratively to give back to their school community. Look up and wave, guys. Yeah. The Enterprise Academy is an alternative school in Newport News that

014offers a modified instructional program to help students make positive changes. And part of this change comes in the form of creative physical education options to engage students in lifelong fitness goals. Since the Enterprise Academy has no space for a gymnasium in its Oyster Point location, PE coach Chris Morgan and his students venture off campus to explore a variety of engaging learning experiences. This school year, middle school aged Academy students have been taking swimming lessons at the Midtown Community Aquatic Center. while high school students have been learning to golf at the Kilntree Golf Club and Resort and hitting the trails as they hike across parts of Virginia. Each of these exciting experiences supports the vision of the Physical Education Department in Newport News Public Schools to introduce, instruct, and guide students as they incorporate activities that

015lead to a lifetime of fitness and wellness. Swimming, golf and hiking each offer lasting benefits such as being safe around water, gaining coordination, dedication and patience, and learning map skills, survival techniques and an appreciation for the outdoors. For the students, there is no cost to learn and enjoy these physical activities since each location generously waived their fees so students could receive a life-changing experience. While swimming and golfing, students learned from professional instructors in state-of-the-art facilities. The aquatic staff at the Midtown Community Center even invited local gold medalist Jim Burden to help teach the students diving techniques while increasing their confidence in the water. And on the golf course, students received driving range tips and chipping instructions from Kiln Creek's golf pros. Each location also allowed students to pursue career pathway options by talking with the

016instructors about their education and job experience. After hiking around area trails such as Newport News Park, Nolan Trail, and Sandy Bottom Nature Park, the students were ready for a day-long excursion to humpback rock in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Waynesboro. Here, the students enjoy the beauty of the mountains while also committing themselves to community service through a team effort of clearing the trails. By exploring beyond their classroom walls, these Enterprise Academy students witness firsthand the variety of activities that our community offers. And as they gain meaning from these real-life experiences, they grow as lifelong learners while working towards being college, career, and citizen ready. Many kids love playing video games, but Newport News students are learning to design their own games. During a week in December, schools and communities across the globe participated in the

017Hour of Code, and many students in Newport News public schools enjoyed the opportunity to learn computer science firsthand. In the past two years, over 94 million people have taken part in the Hour of Code, which offers a variety of free, age-appropriate tutorials that take about 60 minutes to complete. In Newport News, students from 3rd through 12th grade enjoyed participating. The beauty of Hour of Code is no prior experience is needed to enjoy programming and creating on a computer. By giving every student the opportunity to experience computer science right at their fingertips, our students are preparing themselves for a career field that is driving innovation worldwide. With computing jobs outpacing knowledgeable students, this market is ripe for success. Through this one-hour stepping stone, students begin to experience a career pathway that nurtures problem-solving skills, stretches their

018minds, and harnesses the power of creativity. For these reasons and many more, the Newport News STEM department encouraged teachers and instructional technology coaches across our school system to organize their own Hour of Code event. Elementary students were able to learn how to blend math and art skills to create shapes and drawings using code. while students in high school used basic coding to guide characters through interactive levels and move beyond simple play by learning how to build their own video game experience. Throughout the process, every student learned to resolve coding issues when conflicting data was entered, experiment in a constructive learning environment, and construct a digital realm through ingenuity and self-learning. And our teachers benefited from this experience also by opening their classrooms to a new and exciting resource that supports STEM and reading instruction in

019the 21st century. We're back? Okay. Welcome back. I hope everybody watching enjoyed the spotlight. And we're at the point in the meeting where we... I have an audience with individuals who want to speak to the school board about general issues. And again, I do have a card, which we'll take up in the public hearing for the budget. But at this point, I'd ask if we have any cards for general comments. OK, having none. We will have another opportunity at the end of the meeting and if anybody does want to speak in the next session at the end of the meeting just fill out your card and give it to Ms. Hinton. All right next let's take up the consent agenda. The consent agenda this month includes the typical minutes from the January 20th special meeting

020and work session. Then also includes the regular session minutes for the same date. We also have the minutes for the board retreat on February 6th. And we have minutes for the special meeting earlier this month, March 2nd. Along with the consent agenda, we've got financial reports, the revenue report for February 15th, the expense report for February 15th, and the child nutrition report for the 15th. We also have a personnel report. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? So moved. Second. OK. Moved and seconded. Call the roll, please. Mr. Hicks. For. Mr. Hunter. For. Mr. Scott. For. Ms. Simons. For. Mr. Stodgehill. For. And Mr. Ashby. For. Motion carries 7-0. Yeah, we can do that. All right, we're going to move on to, well, actually, we'll take on. Yeah, we're going to observe

021the clock. And at 7 o'clock, we'll go to the public hearing on the budget. So with the few minutes that we have before that, I would ask board members to address the proposed school calendar for 2015 to 2016, which was part of a report over the last month. Do I have a motion to adopt the school calendar? So moved. OK, moved and seconded. Call the roll, please. 4. 4. Mr. Scott? 4. Ms. Simons? 4. Mr. Staggio? 4. And Mr. Ashby? 4. Motion carries 7-0. OK, since things are rolling right along, we're going to move on to another piece of fairly dull business. There's a conservation easement that's necessary. for New Horizons to complete a project adjacent to the Woodside campus. This was presented in a report in the last meeting. The easement text has been

022included in the package. Do I have a motion to approve the easement? So moved. Second. OK, moved and seconded. Call the roll, please. Brown. For. Trichet. For. Hunter. For. Scott. For. Simons. For. Mr. Stavsha. Four. And red. Four. Motion carries 7-0. Personnel actions? Don't have any. OK. No personnel actions this evening. We are almost there. I'll just give my statement. We might be there. Yeah, that'd be good. Dr. Kilgore would like to provide an introduction. So let's proceed with that. Thank you very much. Tonight I'm going to ask our school board to approve the budget for FY16, which really is a blueprint for the coming year in Newport News Public Schools. And it's a plan to move our academic agenda forward to ensure that our young people are college, career, and citizen ready. I think

023I want to thank all the people that worked very hard on this budget since the fall we really began. We've got a budget committee. We have many citizens and employees that share their thoughts. And I think we have come out with a budget proposal that serves our community very well. So tonight I'm going to ask the board to approve the FY16 budget. The total budget of... 295.9 million dollars represents a 1.5 million increase in our revenue from the previous year. I think the emphasis of this budget is the retention and the recruitment of our expert staff. So to do that, we're going to propose, I propose a 2% salary increase for all of our employees. And to make up for some inequities, unequal increments in our salary scale, I'm going to propose adjustments to the

024teacher salary scale to create equal increments in pay for each year of service that you are a part of Newport News Public Schools. The second part of our budget we developed to align with our benchmark priorities of academic achievement, advancement, and youth development for our young people. So let me outline some of the things in this budget that support this academic agenda. First, and I think a big deal, we're going to have an expanded summer learning and enrichment program to be piloted in our southeast community to serve 2,000 students this summer. We're going to hire additional ESL teachers to reduce the teacher-student ratio and to improve the academic achievement of our young people in the ESL. We're going to expand our dual immersion program. It's in two schools now in kindergarten. We will expand that

025to kindergarten and first grade. The budget also includes resources, including equipment and technology for our new Magruder Elementary STEM Discovery Center and resources to update our safety equipment and our science equipment. And we will reduce 17 positions, and all of that will come through attrition, and no one person will lose their job in this. So in short, I think this budget continues our board's unwavering commitment to student achievement, provides a salary increase for all of our staff, and moves our community forward with a fiscally sound plan. So tonight, this budget is what I will propose to you all. Thank you. OK, thank you. So we're right at 7 o'clock. And we'll move on now to the public hearing on the budget. So if you'd like to address the board, fill out one of the cards

026out on the table out front and hand it to either Tracy or Kim here at the front. When your name's called then come up and we have three minutes we We adopt as a limit There are three lights when it's green. It's good. They're right there When it's yellow, I think you have a minute left. Is that right? 30 seconds. Oh and then if red speaks for itself the Do I have a motion for us to open the public hearing? Okay, moved and seconded. Call the roll, please. Four. Four. I do have one card at this point from Steve Camborian. Is that right? Yes, sir. Would you come up and... Just tell us your name again and your address and address the board. Thank you for coming. My name is Steve Camborian. I live at

027120 West Lancashire, Williamsburg, Virginia. And I'm not a school teacher. My wife is. But I went over this. And before we really get started, I wanted to let you all know that when we got the information on the raises and the budget, we had a lot of confusion. Some things obviously not too happy with but I spoke to Joanne Armstrong last week and then again today and she was more than helpful I mean she took her time with me and went over the compression and what you're trying to accomplish So I want to give her some credit on helping me out anyway Looking at this My wife at the end of June will be completing her last year should be going to her 19th year and Based on the budget. She's going to be getting

028a 2% increase in her salary Now, based on what I've come to understand, you're trying to catch up with the salaries and balance things out. But if you look at someone at Step 10, they're getting a $2,450 a year raise. My wife would be getting $1,050. That's an additional $1,400 a year for the Year 10 teacher. What I found out today is that in 2008-2009 starting salary with no experience was $38,400. It stayed that way in 2009-2010. And then by 2011-2012, it was $38,205. It's about a $200 a year difference, which isn't that much. But based on the step 10, step 19, you're talking $1,400, which is a lot. Back in oh nine and 2010 the teachers did not get a raise they got a check for $500 in 2010 1% raise in 2011 and

029one and a half percent raise in 2012 it comes up to about a one and a quarter percent raise which isn't much and I understand like I told Joanne today I Understand there's just a certain amount of money that can go around But these teachers all of them whether it be my wife or anyone else and as you know some of you have taught in the past some of you haven't but It's not an easy job. And you're responsible. You hear the public. You hear the politicians. All they do is criticize the teachers because they say our kids aren't learning. Well, it's not all on their shoulders. It comes from other parts, like the parents, the families, the kids around them, whatever. But it's not all on the teachers, and they take the blame for

030it. And I just really think that looking at this, the way the salary structure is, I'm going to ask the board to try to do something, to find something to... I mean, 2% after 19 years of service really isn't that much. Again, I understand your positioning with the budget, but I'm just going to ask you to try and do your best to maybe make it a little bit higher. You know, just help her out, help all those teachers out. 19 to 31 years in service, I guess, like we were talking, I was talking to Mr. Stodgill earlier and Ms. Simons, you know, you're teaching for 31 years. You're dedicating your life to this profession, and we know we all need teachers. Otherwise, this country won't be going anywhere. So anyway, thank you for your time,

031and have a good evening. Thank you for your comments, sir. Do we have any other cards? Okay, no other cards. There will be an opportunity at the end of the meeting if anybody else wants to share any comments with us. Being no other speakers, do I have a motion to close the public hearing? So moved. Second. OK, moved and seconded. Call the roll, please. Mr. Brown. 4. Mr. Hicks. 4. Mr. Hunter. 4. Mr. Scott. 4. Ms. Simons. 4. Mr. Staccio. 4. And Mr. Ashby. 4. Motion carries 7-0. All right, we're going to move on then to take up the budget issue, which is 5.03, item 5.03 on our agenda. And before we move into that, I'm just going to read this technical thing that we want to make clear and transparent. We've been advised that

032Mr. Hunter, my colleague to the right, is disqualified from voting on a certain portion of the budget because his wife works for the school division. And therefore, we're going to... deal with the budget in two steps so that one in which he can participate and vote and the other in which he'll abstain. And I think Mr. Hunter will, at the appropriate time, explain his conflict. So at this point, do I have a motion for the first part of the budget? Chairman Stocco, I move that the Board adopt the fiscal year 2016 proposed operating budget as recommended by the Superintendent with the exception of the salary impact of the approved budget for Mrs. Sylvia Hunter in the amount of $295,872,597. The 2015-2016 salary schedules and supplements, the following are included. The 2015-2016 Workers' Compensation Fund budget

033of $1,960,000. The textbook fund budget of $1,219,219. And the 2015-2016 Child Nutrition Fund budget of $16,608,000. Okay. Do I have a second? Second. Any comments? Call the roll, please. Mr. Brown? 4. Mr. Hicks? 4. Mr. Hunter? 4. Mr. Scott? 4. Ms. Simons? 4. Mr. Stodgert? 4. And Mr. Ashby? 4. Motion carries 7-0. And then, so I think Mr. Hunter would explain. Yes, yes. I have been advised by counsel that the State and Local Conflict of Interest Act requires that I disclose any personal interest in a transaction as that term is defined in the act. My spouse, Sylvia Hunter, is employed by the school division, and voting on the budget as it affects her is deemed a personal interest in the transaction before the board. An officer of a local government who has a personal interest

034in a transaction is disqualified from participating in the transaction. Therefore, I will not participate in discussion or the vote on this transaction. Okay, do I have a motion to adopt the balance of the budget? Yes, Mr. Chairman, I move that the portion of the fiscal year 2016 proposed budget, which represents the salary of Ms. Sylvia Hunter, inclusive of the 2% pay increase, which is consistent with Dr. Kilgore's recommendation, for all employees for the 2015-2016 school year be approved. Is there a second? Second. Any discussion? Okay. Having none, call the roll, please. Mr. Brown. Four. Mr. Hicks? 4. Mr. Scott? 4. Ms. Simons? 4. Mr. Stodgio? 4. And Mr. Ashby? 4. Motion carries 6-0. Okay. Well, we have a budget for next year. Thank you. All right. Let's move on to the reports and information section

035of our agenda because I think we cleared out everything else under action items. We did. Okay. That was fast. All right, the first item in this section will be a progress report for Sedgefield and Newsome Park Elementary Schools. So please come forward and bring us up to date. All right, good evening, everybody. Tonight I'm here to present our monthly progress report for Newsome Park and Sedgefield Elementary Schools. To revisit, like you heard earlier, we missed our February board meeting, but in February on the 11th, school board members visited both schools, and at that time they were able to visit regular classroom instruction as well as intervention enrichment blocks and also to hear from the principals about the progress at each school. to review our system for progress. In Newport News Public Schools, we place a

036lot of emphasis on developing employee expertise because we believe that's a real leverage point for improving student achievement. We know if our teachers and then the rest of our staff is getting smarter about their work, then logically student achievement will follow. And also in the research about school turnaround, there has to be the family support piece that's a critical element to turning around schools so we've placed a lot of focus on that at both schools we've talked about that in previous meetings but even with all of that there are still some students who need extra time to master certain skills and concepts and that's where intervention comes in so tonight's focus will be on the intervention piece of the system for progress So this is how you move from classroom instruction to intervention enrichment and

037this is new for us this year. We haven't done these intervention enrichment blocks in the past in Newport News Schools and we'll get more into the details of it but what we saw and what we're trying to do is provide that extra help for students without them missing any other instruction. That's the idea. So, typically, we will give students benchmark assessments throughout the school year to monitor progress. And students who achieve mastery on one of the assessments would go into the enrichment portion of the IE block. And in the enrichment portion, they would be in a large group, like a regular class size, maybe 25 students. And our focus there is working on integrated STEM activities. For students who haven't mastered certain concepts on the benchmark, they would be placed into an intervention group, which

038they would go with a teacher to a small group environment and receive targeted assistance based on those skills or concepts that they haven't mastered to this point. So we'll add more details about what this looks like later in the presentation. In the intervention cycle, a student is assigned to an intervention group of a 1 to 10 ratio or less at both schools, Sedgefield and Newsome Park. You more likely see about six or seven students in a group. We're able to get the sizes down to that small. We do four-week cycles of interventions, and the intervention blocks themselves last 30 minutes. Now, the reason we're able to get the student-teacher ratio down so effectively is because all staff are involved in the intervention enrichment block. So it's not just interventionists, it's reading specialists, it's classroom teachers,

039it's special education teachers, instructional assistants, everybody makes a contribution and that's how we're able to get the numbers down so low. Additionally, by doing that... Sometimes even our classroom teachers are serving as interventionists. Anyone can be an interventionist. That's kind of the shift that we've made. And by doing that, we're able to get our strongest teachers in with our neediest students. Instruction, again, is targeted on an identified skill. We're going to talk about computation and estimation tonight in math. And then at the end of every cycle, a post-assessment is given to measure how we did in that intervention cycle. So on the left here you can see a math intervention block and students are working with counters and plates and markers to develop an understanding at the concrete or conceptual level. We want to fill

040gaps where students are lacking understanding because eventually they have to move to the abstract level because that's the level that the questions are asked on the SOL test. So we want to go back, fill in, make sure students understand conceptually. and then we can work through to the abstract level. And on the right side you see students in a reading intervention block and in there the instruction is differentiated and students are working on reading, sorting, and classifying the written word. So this is a daily schedule for a fourth grader at Newsome Park Elementary School. So you can see they stay very busy throughout the day. We start with a morning meeting and breakfast every day and breakfast is eaten in the classroom. that's to get the day started and then students will go to math

041which is a combination of whole group and small group and then after resource they come back and do that's where the math IE block would take place at Newsome Park we actually have two IE blocks some other schools have one IE block and they might teach some students might go to mass some students might go to reading based on need but at Newsome Park Miss judge has actually set it up so there's two IE blocks So you can see the 30 minute block there after students come back from resource. Then later on in the day after students have their reading block, whole and small group, again the reading IU block takes place for 30 minutes from 2.55 to 3.25. And you can see that as part of Newsom's Park's plan, their finish strong plan, even

042during lunch students have vocabulary bins on the table and they're working on vocabulary and testing each other on vocabulary during lunch. You can see that the entire day is filled with instruction. And then afterwards, at both schools, we have 50 or more students on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday participating in 21st Century where additional learning can take place. And that's on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. And then we have the Saturday Academy going from 9 to 12 on Saturday. So lots of opportunities for students to get reinforced on the skills that they need. So here are some data from some recently completed cycles at both Newsome Park and Sedgefield. And so this data comes from the post-assessment that we give at the end of the four-week cycle. And you can see in Newsome Park and Sedgefield on

043computation and estimation that for the fourth graders at Newsome Park, 34 out of 43 students who participated in the intervention block met their goal. So that was a 62% rate. And at Sedgefield in the fifth grade, 20 out of 28 students met their goal in computation and estimation, and that's at a 71% rate. So next steps for April, board members will be invited to visit Saturday Academy. Also, we all have unique professional development opportunities for staff at each school. Dr. Kilgore mentioned earlier about the SPARC program that's coming to Newport News. So we already have a summer school program, but not only are we going to extend the weeks, but we're also going to extend the length of the day to a full day. We'll hear more about that in April and then finally as

044far as the family piece Many of you maybe remember the wake up and read at Gildersleeve recently So math Mardi Gras will be at Booker T Washington It'll be very similar to with competitions just like wake up and read the only difference being that it'll be all centered on math So that concludes the presentation and I'll take any questions if anybody has any questions comments Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have a few questions. In terms of the, I see the standard, the computation and estimation. How many other standards have there been since we started? So this is one of how many? It's usually five big standards, like measurement and geometry is one, computation and estimation. If you go through patterns, functions, and algebra is another one. Number and number sense. So there are a bunch of

045them. And the difference now, Mr. Brown, is I think in the past what we would do, we'd give an SOL test, and then every student who didn't pass the SOL test, we'd lump them into a tutoring program. and they would just get kind of general instruction. The difference here is instead of lumping kids in because they didn't pass a test, we're looking at what specific areas do they need reinforcement in, and then we're targeting those areas to close gaps. That's the big difference. And I guess just in terms of those results that we're seeing so far, I'd be interested to see for the other standards what the scores were prior to our intervention program starting up. And just so we can see a collection of all the scores across all the standards, I'd be interested

046to see that information. Okay, sure. And then on the slide 9 where we have the second quarter benchmarks, could you just walk me through what is there in terms of – the ranges that we see and then the the results that that were there that's not the slide here maybe that was uh it was it's actually the one after this one but it might have been excluded from it wasn't yeah I guess it wasn't something you had intended to share okay okay well I guess at some point if you could just send me a note about how to read this interpret this life sure sure and just to tell you that you know it was about second quarter benchmarks and that'll measure a portion of the curriculum that's taught according to the pacing guide for

047that nine weeks and you can get a measure of how well teachers are teaching it and how well students are mastering it so that's to give us kind of a gauge along the way with how we're progressing Ms. Simons So I'm curious about how the 20th Century program is going after school, how the attendance is. I noticed that it's from 4.30 to 6.30. Right. So I wondered, is there any meal being served, or what are they doing after school until 4.30? Well, yes, that's part of it. Up until 4.30, it's really by the time buses pull out and everything, it's 4 o'clock or a little bit after. So I'm pretty sure that's the— When they get out, go back to the daily schedule. Okay. So you can see it in there. Really, by the time

048buses are out, that's when, and before the 4.30 start time, that's when students get their snack and whatever they're going to eat. And so that's how that works. But the attendance is great. Kids love it, and teachers enjoy working in it. So, you know, like a lot of things that are driving us, we know if we have opportunities for students, we create these opportunities. The students will be there. They're hungry to learn and be a part of something. So it's really well attended. Okay. Thanks. You're welcome. I'm pleased to hear your report. How are the parents responding to our efforts to improve our schools at the school? Parents helping out, supporting? What we're seeing is that the parents are more supportive because students needs are being met and even and kind of an unanticipated Consequence

049that we've heard from principals in the different schools is because student needs are being met We've had less discipline referrals because if you're not getting it in class There's a time every day where you we can give you reinforcement and help you get caught up And so I think when students are not feeling frustrated that you know, this is a natural byproduct comments questions um I'm not sure if you were saying that the two schools were different but on slide number seven you gave the example as of a Newsome Park right this is their schedule right so are there two different Setups for the two different schools the actual schedule for Sedgefield is slightly different, but not very different But if we looked at some schools that only have one intervention block that would probably

050look pretty significantly different And again in that in those schools we have the one intervention block We still know who the children are and we kind of have a team assigned to math and a team assigned to reading so those students could go to reading for one cycle, but if they need math to then the next cycle around they could go to math and And then when they've worked their way to the point where they've reached competency, then, of course, they can join the enrichment group. Okay. Is this something that you and your staff came up with or the schools themselves, the culture? This came out of the senior staff's trips to the DMC conference in Boston where we were trying to get smarter about intervention. And before, students were getting pulled out of class.

051to get intervention from special education teachers, teacher assistants and things like that. But when they were getting pulled out of class, they were missing their regular teacher's instruction. So for those students, their day looked kind of chopped up. So the idea here is let's not pull any students out of their regular teacher's instruction or have any instruction going on when those students aren't in there. So they're not missing any of that Tier 1 instruction now. So it's additional learning time without pulling them out of class. where they're missing instruction. And it is a division-wide approach. Everybody has intervention block. They have more of them at these two schools. Any other questions? I'd just like to thank Dr. Smith and Ms. Porter-Clark for the leadership. Something very, very creative and innovative is going on at these

052two schools. And we were able to see firsthand how that worked. how they're able to determine which of the children are where they need to be and which ones have gaps. So it's a very focused approach. It's a very detailed management approach that I think is going to lead us to the insights that are necessary to figure out how to how to bring children forward when they're behind in a certain area. Right. And the goal always is to reduce the number of students needing intervention as quickly as possible. That's what we're going to try to do. So I thank you for your work on this. All right, thank you. And I look forward to future reports. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Any other? OK. We're going to move on then next to item 6.02,

053which is a technology in Newport News Public Schools report. And? We have James Maxlow and Daniel Curry Corcoran. Good evening. Good evening, Mr. Stodgeville, members of the board, Dr. Kilgore. It's a pleasure to speak with you tonight about our work in technology throughout Newport News Public Schools. Tonight, James Maxlow, our supervisor of instructional technology and I, would like to share overall the division's philosophy and the technology framework that both drives our efforts in deploying resources. training staff and making informed decisions all of which are focused around ensuring that our schools classrooms and teachers are Have the tools that they need to deliver a 21st century education In order to provide some background for the initiatives you will hear about later in the presentation a little bit more detail I thought it go I thought a

054good starting point would be to highlight the general philosophy Well, we can move Do you want to move on to another item while they get this screen? There it is right there. All right. Technology is amazing. Technology is amazing. That was the presentation we demoed on the same computer. That was the one we discarded. That was the one we discarded. Well, it's high stakes. Maybe the same facets, just a little different flavor. High stakes, high technology. I'd like to thank Michelle Price. Coming through on a bench. So again, the evolution of technology. So again, we wanted to start tonight by talking a little bit about the philosophy that drives our work with technology. First of course student learning needs change day to day classroom to classroom and lesson to lesson and I know many of

055you have the opportunity to go out there and many of you have been teachers and know this to be true that each and every day things change and so we need technology that's flexible enough to handle those type of instructional changes in the classroom. Kind of our second guiding point of philosophy statement is basically there's no one-size-fits-all technology solution to support teaching and learning. We have pre-K teachers and students that require certain technologies in elementary schools, all the way up to high school and into our AP classes. So no one size fits all model. And then finally, that our tools, curriculum, and professional development are tailored to different grade levels, subjects, and most importantly, student needs. So some of the things that you're going to hear about tonight when we talk about these initiatives that

056we have in Newport News and the work we've been focused on is going to be all of and championed by these three main philosophical points that we use to make our decisions. But now what you really want to know and a public wants to know is how do these beliefs and these philosophy statements shape the use of technology to support the learning in the classroom? Really, that's the end goal for all of our technology. And tonight you're going to hear about four separate areas. One, you're going to hear about some of the work we've been doing with our technology in our infrastructure and hardware. That would be all the behind-the-scenes tools, as well as the computers and other tools in the classroom that make things work. We're going to talk, James is going to talk

057in more detail about our technology-rich curriculum lessons and the work of our instructional technology coaches. and how they work to work with our teachers to integrate this in the classroom. And then we're going to sum up by talking about some of the resources that teachers have access to to deliver this and that we provide to them. Before we get started because we're not going to have a lot of time to spend on all the initiatives that we've done over the past five years it's to kind of highlight some of those big points that we've been using and part of our strategic planning process. As you know in technology things build upon one another. You can't have computers in the classroom unless you have the infrastructure to support those so that they can access things like

058streaming video. So we wanted to highlight just a few of those and you see back in 2009 and 2010 Really a lot of our work in determining what a 21st century classroom would look like started with our smart board implementations across the division and really making that happen so the teachers could leverage Streaming video and other resources and share that information with the class You see that in 2011 and so sorry in 2010 and 2011 We put in a brand new high-speed wireless system throughout Newport News public schools again as teachers had more resources They wanted access to more things like streaming video, which of course requires more bandwidth In 2011 and 2012, we implemented our science labs, which was state of the art 21st century classrooms in terms of science. And then you see

059things begin to really pick up. In 2012 and 2013, we were able to roll out our Bring Your Own Device initiative. James is going to talk a little bit more about that a little later in the presentation. In 2013 and 2014, we expanded our internet bandwidth. so that teachers and students had more access to bandwidth so that they could do more streaming video and other resources. And in 2014 and 2015, we've done a lot of work with replacing our network switches. Really, we've opened up, if you think about it as a freeway, we've opened up the interstate from a two-lane to a six-lane in terms of the data rates that can be transferred back and forth between computers and over our wireless networks, ultimately providing students and teachers with access to more information to really

060change the way they can teach and students can learn. And then of course last year you guys will remember the work we did with our three to five getting mobile technology into those classrooms. So those are some of the big milestones we were able to hit. I'm going to turn it over to Mr. James Maxwell now who's going to go into this in a little bit more detail. Good evening. I would like to take just a few minutes to highlight again those four main areas that we devote our efforts to when it comes to using technology for the purpose of increasing our academic achievement. First, with respect to infrastructure and hardware that was mentioned, just some highlights from the past few years. We did increase, as was said, our pipe to the outside world, our

061internet bandwidth. As more and more of our resources move online, as video becomes more and more an important part of our instruction, it's important that we don't get bogged down with buffering and waiting and so on. Well, if we increase our pipe to the outside world, we need to, of course, make sure that all that extra data gets delivered to the classrooms. And so, as Daniel mentioned, we tirelessly and endlessly upgrade our wired and wireless networking so that more of that information gets to the student devices in the classrooms. In this year in particular, we have a new content filtering system. In the past, we have struggled with the ability to get high quality educational content to our students that happens to be paired sometimes with some inappropriate content. So for example, YouTube is a

062fantastic source for learning all kinds of different things, but sometimes a lot of the content we would consider not appropriate for our students. With our new content filtering system, we now do provide access to YouTube for our students, and we strip away all the excess baggage that's not appropriate for our students. classroom use. As was mentioned a couple years ago, we began our student bring your own device initiative where students are allowed to bring in their cell phones, tablets, and whatnot and actually connect our own wireless network for educational purposes. This year alone we have 1,000 student devices already registered in that program across several secondary schools. And as Dayan mentioned, we just completed a massive effort to get sets of five classroom laptops into every third, fourth, and fifth grade classroom. That helps our

063teachers and students do more things with both individualized instruction, small group work, and so on that would not have been possible with the previous computers that we had in those rooms. A second main area, and a very important one, that we use to support learning is our entire curriculum. We've had an online curriculum for 10 years now and it has always had tons of instructional technology lessons built in, lessons, activities, and resources. They always meet certain qualifications though. They establish baseline expectations so that every teacher knows full well what opportunities we expect and even demand that our students have when it comes to using technology. Those instructional technology lessons and activities are always content and age appropriate, meaning they're tied specifically to that course. to the age level so we may have our pre-k and

064kindergarten students designing elementary graphic organizers using software and we may have our middle school and high school students using all kinds of different programs to their stem design briefs online As always, our entire curriculum and most especially our technology portions support our college career and assistant writing skills. So for example, in our English classrooms and our English curriculum, we have opportunities for students to connect with authors around the country and around the world through video conferencing and other resources. So they get those authentic audiences as an example and get critiques for their work. Going along with that, our activities generally provide unique experiences. For example, in our middle school curriculum, we have technology opportunities where students are collecting actual weather data around this area and Chesapeake Bay and then providing that data to researchers at

065the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for our federal government, demonstrating that we can actually connect our students as young as middle school or even elementary to real-world applications. And most importantly, all of our activities related to technology in this curriculum evolve over time. As our student needs change, as our standards change, as our view and vision of what technology is and should be changes, we have flexibility to add, update, change, replace, and otherwise improve our curriculum as needed. The third main area, a very vital part of our efforts to improve student learning, are our instructional technology coaching staff. These staff members are dedicated to improving the skills of technology integration of our teachers. They do many, many things in their job, but some of the primary things they do is they coach a small number

066of teachers at each school in depth. And by that I mean they engage in coaching cycles of planning, co-teaching, modeling, feedback, and so on, to help build those teacher skills in very intense sessions. With a larger audience, they developed specific teacher skills. For example, when we rolled out our smart boards, our ITC staff was essential in helping teachers view them as interactive devices and not just presentation screens. And also when we rolled out our science labs, helping them learn how to use the PASCO probes, for example, that we provide effectively. They also helped teachers develop skills in students themselves. So whether it's a kindergarten student using virtual manipulatives and software for the first time to solve complex math problems or other types of skills, we know that they can be that bridge between that teacher

067and student as needed. They are very helpful in implementing division initiatives that we have, whether we roll out a new student information system or roll out electronic performance assessments, we know that they play key roles in making sure that goes as smoothly as possible and that they provide as much support as possible. And on top of all that, they do take our curriculum. They help teachers implement and understand all the lessons and activities they may find there. But they also supplement that curriculum with hundreds and hundreds of other lessons and activities that teachers can take on voluntarily to provide those opportunities to students to use technology in their rooms. The fourth major component I just want to share with you tonight about how we use technology to improve student learning has to do with all

068the miscellaneous resources that we provide. So, for example, we have dozens of professional development sessions that occur throughout the course of a year under the University of Employee Development banner, where teachers can voluntarily go and learn how to use various technologies to support their students. We provide bi-weekly and monthly lesson ideas to teachers on top of the curriculum itself so that they have interesting and innovative ways to try out the new tools that we provide to them for their students. We provide lots of free and subscription-based websites, whether it's video sites such as eMediaVA or BrainPop or online learning and storage sites such as Gaggle that allow our students to do their work and get messages from teachers anytime and anywhere. The VDOE and WHRO, our local public television station, have created online courses that

069we use intensely here. We have about 200 to 300 students every year taking 12th grade government online, which frees up their 7th period in their schedule, for example, to pursue job chatting opportunities, internship opportunities, and so on. 2,000 students every year taking economics and personal finance online meeting several state requirements in one bundle. And in recent years we have also launched our virtual connection K-8 online school in which K-8H students can take all their instruction at home while still meeting all the standards of learning and expectations that Huber News sets out. And all those things of course are made possible through the technology that we provide. So you've heard sort of a highlight list of some things we've been doing in the recent past and currently, but the question may arise, is it just a

070haphazard approach or is there a plan behind it? And if so, how do we plan going forward with technology? How do we plan for the future? It really is a three-step process. We definitely gather feedback from all kinds of different stakeholders, most especially teachers, but also students, specialists. members of the public, school board members and others. We ask them questions such as what's working, what's not working, what more do you need, what better support can we provide, what technologies are out there on the horizon that may be useful to you. We take all that feedback and using it we draft an overarching framework that allows us to both research and evaluate and select new technologies. What we never put in a plan is we're going to get this model of this tool and this brand

071because by the time that plan actually rolls around to be implemented, it's out of date and not useful anymore. So instead what we do is we maintain flexibility by establishing a set of rules and guidelines so that as we research new technologies and identify new student needs, we know what framework to follow to get those kinds of technologies into classrooms. And then lastly, once that planning is done, we actually take steps to deploy those technologies into classrooms. Again, it's not haphazard, it's very intentional, and with a lot of forethought. We make sure, for example, that as we put in new laptops in third through fifth grade classrooms, as an example, that we have the wireless infrastructure to support it, that we have the tech staff to do technical support, that we have ITCs involved in

072helping teachers learn how to use them better, that we have the curriculum to support it. So it's very focused, it's very intentional when we take steps like this. So if that is what I'm saying is our planning process, Daniel is going to briefly highlight our next strategic planning process. So we've reached the end of the road on our current technology plan. That will expire at the end of this school year. And again, the Newport News, again, using some of the resources and means that James has spoke about, assemble another team, another technology committee that will begin to construct our technology plan over the next five years. We don't have a lot of information yet from the Virginia Department of Education, but towards May, June, we expect more information to be coming out from them. So

073what is our strategic technology plan? These dates were kind of approximate dates, but they're kind of taken off of timelines that we've done from other technology planning dates. In October of next school year, we'll begin with a kickoff where we'll begin to assemble that technology committee, kind of review the guidance from the Virginia Department of Education, look at our past initiatives and things like that. By then, we will work on drafting a committee report in November. working on a final draft by March and of course to the school board for approval by May so it's a big big task that will undertake and that's why again some of the work we did this year with the evolution of technology team will begin to assemble some of those same staff that have been working on these

074things so it's always a very eventful and great process to go through but with that that's all we have for you tonight we'll be happy to take any questions if you have any okay Thank you for this presentation. Board members, questions, comments? Yes, Mr. Chairman. Yes. A few questions. In terms of the Bring Your Own Device initiative, what are some of the steps that we've taken? So one of the concerns with the Bring Your Own Device initiative is that the kids are able to use their own device for nefarious purposes. So what are some of the steps that we've taken to ensure that those devices aren't used for? non-educational purposes? Absolutely. Great question. We have worked out an intense set of guidelines to guide every school so that as they have their teachers elect to

075do this process in their classrooms, they know what options and fallbacks they have. The first thing is that we make sure that our internet filtering meets all federal guidelines for SIPA so that there is no inappropriate content that comes through. The second thing is we tell schools... Just like you have the flexibility to decide what the consequences may be if a student is off task in your classroom, you have that same flexibility to decide under this Bring-On-Your-Device initiative. It's not a right that students have to bring and use these devices as a privilege. So when students have demonstrated that they cannot handle the responsibility of using their device only for educational purposes, that teacher simply has to say, for today. your privileges are cut off. And if, depending on the seriousness of the issue, that

076school has a wide range of responses from temporarily removing them from the access network to permanently removing them to parent conferences and any other thing that would already be in the student rights and responsibilities handbook. Okay, in terms of technology managing that process, do we have the capability to track, for example, for folks who are bringing their own cell phones in, the children who are accessing the Wi-Fi network, tracking their usage, any other kinds of technologies to prevent them from going to certain sites and doing various things with the phones from a technology standpoint? Well, all of our hardware, if they connect into the bring your own device network, they're bound by the same safeguards that all of our student computers are. They have the exact same privileges on there, so they can't access sites

077that they shouldn't be accessing. With that, we do have the ability, if need be, to track Internet history and other things that students are doing on the commute. And as far as the cellular access capability of a particular device, is that a capability? Do we technologically have the capability to track monitor usage of? cellular services for an individual device when they bring it into the school. Right, so that's a great question. We do not have the ability, if they were to go, say, on their own cell phone network, to know where they're going. But as we tell all teachers, you are in control of your classroom, and when you notice a student is doing anything that you consider to be inappropriate, then you start the investigation and figure out, okay, what choices did they make

078that may have been inappropriate or not? And then you just said that way. We don't have a technological... means to say to for example block cell phone networks that would be legal to do that in our schools of course and so it's more about building trust and modeling the good behavior in our classrooms and then dealing with any infractions as they occur but I can say especially at our sites they're using a lot of participation here that when they are trusting their students to do the right thing in 99% of cases they are because it's such a joy to them to be able to use their own property for their own learning which previously they had not been able to do. Just one other follow-up here. In terms of online learning, one of the critiques

079that I often hear when we're talking to folks in the community about use of technology for online learning is everyone doesn't have a computer. All kids don't have a computer. Do we now have a census or is there a plan to take a type of a census to find out who does and who doesn't have a computer in the technology plan? I think in terms of, you know, that's something that's been on our plate, things that we've been discussing for a long time, you know, especially with the new Connect to Compete program, looking at different resources that are out there available. We have not, as of today, done a citywide survey. But it's one of the things that we've thought about possibly partnering with the city to see if they're interested in to know a

080little bit more about it. It does, of course, shape the type of resources and technology that can be used at home. But like I said, we are taking advantage of all the available means that we have. All of our students that qualify for the free and reduced meals, the Connect to Compete program, they all received a personal flyer to say that that web service was available. So we're doing what we can and, of course, making other alternatives and thinking what it's possibly we can do in the future. Okay. And I just would share that I believe there is technology that can control the use of an individual device, and there's ways that we can do that legally. And then, as well, there are companies out there that will perform a survey for us and help

081us determine who does and who doesn't have a computer, who does and who doesn't have Internet access. And I'd love to see that implemented, and I'd be happy to share that with you. Thank you. is there any other comments questions I just want to make a comment I just admire the proactiveness that's being displayed and demonstrated by Newport News Public Schools in reference to to the technology the technology area just overall how do students feel about having the opportunity to use their own device. And then I think the second thing is maybe the next time to have a student share with us how it's empowered them, how it's enlightened them, how much they're connected to it. Just a suggestion that I would make. And I'd say we can definitely arrange a site visit. I mean,

082when you go talk, for example, to students at Crittenden Middle School, which is the school that has our most BOD participation, they are just over the moon with their teachers trusting them to do these things. So we'd be happy to arrange some sort of visit. You can talk to the students themselves and get their own feedback. Thank you. I just have a quick comment. I'd just like to commend the whole technology department here at NPS for constantly evolving with not only the times, as well as the technology, and as well as the student body. On a personal note, I can explain to you my first experience with a smart board. And I thought that it was the most amazing thing. And as we all know, not a lot of people, maybe none at all, have

083smart boards at home. So that was something that the technology department... offered for students to gain access to and learn that, hey, there's something out here in this big world that is, you know, really advanced and really, you know, fascinating. So as you guys keep opening up these opportunities for students, you're creating memories as we evolve with the times, you know, that will carry us on to our careers and stuff like that. So we will be knowledgeable about how to operate technology in the future. So I'd just like to commend you for all the work that you've put into evolving this technology here. Thank you. It's humbling each time a kindergartner shows me how to use a smart board. Thank you. Mr. Hunter. Again, I want to compliment you on a fantastic presentation. And I've

084been to many of the classrooms here in Newport New School System. And to have smart boards about two years ago, before I was on the board, I did visit schools and saw that they had smart boards. And I've been to many universities that don't have smart boards in the classrooms. And to have that type of technology here for our students at the elementary level is phenomenal. Another question is, you said there are about 1,000 students that registered their devices? 1,000 student devices. A few students do. So probably in your plan, your three to five year plan, you can imagine that probably going to grow to 2,000 or 3,000, if not more. And so we have to prepare for the bandwidth. We have that problem on my job as well. We open it up and then

085we had to, Mr. Brown, they will shut you. We limit it. People, if you can. To go to YouTube and Pandora, that takes a lot of bandwidth. So those type of things, you can get those type of blocks on. That's all the internet filtering that. Filtering. That new content filtering provides us a lot of flexibility to shut things down over the network. And we can monitor where people are surfing. We took all the shopping stuff off of our computer set. You can do that. we do great job I know that I get a lot of questions from constituents about e-textbooks and why do the kids have to carry these heavy textbooks back and forth and why can't we replace them with iPads. Can you all comment on the situation of online textbooks and the cost

086structure and the feasibility of having students? access textbooks online. Sure. What most publishers these days, what the model they're going with is primarily they are still interested in selling the physical book and they throw in the online version on top of that. Some publishers do indeed sell online only. One difficulty with that, again, to go back to Mr. Brown's comments is... we know that some significant portion of our populace do not have adequate computer access at home. And so to switch only to that model I don't think would serve us well. We do offer online textbooks to our teachers to use with their students. One caveat with tablets and iPads and something in particular, many of the online textbooks, for example, would not work with an iPad-like device due to the software choices that Apple

087has made. But more importantly, you can often end up paying more per copy of the text digitally, then you may even physically, even though that may not make sense from an economic perspective, the way that they charge, you can't necessarily reuse that license year to year in some cases, unlike you can with a book. And so each year we do look at, with the purchasing department, what options are they offering us for all the various textbook adoptions. But as was said earlier, I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all model for even... the textbook aspect of it, other than to say that we provide the resources when we can for those students that do have computing devices, but we're not in a place yet where we could switch totally to that model. And our webpage does

088have a list of the text and directions for parents for doing that. Okay. But there's no real cost savings there. I mean, the publishers are going to get their money from the content. Okay. I think that's important for people to know. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much for keeping us up to date and current on our technology, Mr. Maxlow, Mr. Curtis-Corcoran. All right. Let's move along to the next item, 6.03. We need to, I think, get a report from Mr. Webb on a lease amendment that's necessary at Enterprise Academy. Mr. Webb, welcome. Thank you. Good evening. Mr. Chair, Vice Chair, members of the board, Dr. Kilgore. This evening I've been asked to brief you on a proposed lease amendment at Enterprise Academy. As you know, we leased the entire facility that we currently use

089at Enterprise Academy. We were advised recently that additional space adjacent to that which we already occupy had become available. Currently our Elementary School Enterprise Academy program is housed at Watkins Early Childhood Center and from a practical perspective having it all under one roof has operational as well as educational benefits. So the decision was made to utilize this opportunity to secure some additional space immediately adjacent to the space we already lease. You'll see on the screen the adjacent space that we are proposing to lease. It's 1,202 square feet, which is slightly larger than a conventional elementary classroom, which is what they're currently occupying at Greenwood, excuse me, Watkins. So, by moving to this, we will gain the efficiencies of having all the children within the program in the same facility, as well as being able to

090pick up on the commonality items like food service. media, that sort of thing, as well as the disciplinary facilities and personnel that are available within the Enterprise Academy program. This will be geared towards elementary school students. It will have its own entrance from the outside off of the parking lot. There will be a new door installed in this view it will be on the right side of the drawing because that's the side where all the rest of our property that we lease is located so that we'll have adjacencies and be able to easily access one facility from the other depending on the need the door will either be open or closed and so there will be the ability to have a standalone facility this facility that we're proposing to lease has its own restroom facilities

091as well as direct access outdoors. This is its current configuration. We will do a slight amount of remodeling to make it suitable for our use. The landlord has provided some funding within the lease structure to help pay for any remodeling that we decide to do. As you can see, there's a smaller office within that. We propose to basically eliminate the office and provide one large space such as the traditional classroom would typically have. And that's not going to impact the overall square footage of the building significantly. It's not going to impact the budget significantly. We believe picking up some of the utility of having other things that need to be in place for a successful program will probably outweigh some of the other considerations in play at the time. that's all I have to report

092we happy to answer any questions it is possible for us to visit it prior to signing the lease we know we can probably arrange that we could probably arrange that that's a good idea can we arrange that okay thank you for the report but my concern she can I think it's a very good idea but I would like to go and see the place when you're talking about bringing elementary students age students with high school students want to make sure that the parameters are there you know in that environment that we don't have the mixture of kids walking down the same hallway or bypassing using the same facility so That's the only thing I'm quite sure we are aware of that. I just want to kind of put that on record to make sure that

093we are. Sure. Mr. Ashley. I actually, well, I really like and admire this idea, the physicalness of moving it to the younger children. I think one of the unique things is it has nothing to do with the physicality. I think the unique experience I can have in this situation is that if you have children in Enterprise Academy where the middle and high school students are, those students that have progressed academically, socially, as far as behavior is concerned, can actually go and talk and encourage the children at an elementary school. So to me, I see that as a win-win situation. But students that have been at Enterprise, they've traveled through the program. And again, they have grown academically, socially, developmentally. They understood what they did. They can actually go back and speak to an elementary school

094student or class and talk about, you know, growing and developing there. So, you know, I understand the position has been shared, but there's another side to that. And I think that is really good. Mentoring could happen in that situation. Modeling could happen in that situation. Just a tremendous amount. And it could really, really prove to be very, very effective because children, listen to teachers, to absorb what the teacher is saying, but for them to see a high school student that had a challenge, that grew, and then before that student exits Enterprise Academy to come back and talk or go and talk to that elementary school student, I think it's phenomenal. And I think another connection that could happen and may happen there, I know Dr. Smith has developed and created the student success plan template,

095but that could be used in that situation there and a mentor could be used with a high school student there. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yes, just two questions. One would just be the total cost of, secondly, the number of kids potentially that could be serviced at walk-ins that aren't getting serviced right now. Well, I can speak somewhat to the expense. This space is going to cost us roughly $1,500. It's like $1,552 is the exact number. It will... Per month, okay. It is all laid out in the lease, which you have a copy with, I believe, as part of your agenda. It has an escalation clause that will roughly increase the rent about $30 annually. It will bring the entire enterprise complex up to 39,578 square feet. Now, I do not know what the entire

096lease for the entire facility costs at this point, but it's something we can provide you if you're interested in that. Because we also have a classroom at Watkins, that will allow us to take anywhere from... 18 more students at least a dozen more students will get preschool education that aren't getting it now yes that's great any other questions? I visited Enterprise last spring and Mr. Scott and I got a tour and if I place myself in the picture there the proposed area Based on my recollection, it's right next to the principal's office. I think that seems like a really appropriate adjacency. But I do think the idea of visiting to look at this would be a good idea. So I'm going to suggest that we try to put that together for the next 30 days

097if we can. Yes, we'll do it before our next meeting so then maybe we can approve the lease the next time. And I think at that time we can get direct answers on some of the issues that are going to pop up. How would the meals be served, and how do we address making sure that the individual age groups don't intermix? So good. We'll look forward to that. Thank you for all the comments. Mr. Scott. ask you construction costs on what we are possibly thinking about doing as far as making any changes. No, that's built into the agreement that they will do to it. They have provided we believe it will be sufficient funds to cover what we intend to do because there's not a great deal of improvements that need to be done. Okay.

098Looks like you'd want to take a few walls out and create some open space and that kind of thing. Exactly. So in other words, they're going to refashion it so that it's essentially got new finishes and the partitions need to be taken out in certain places to make way for that. Yes, and based on our working arrangement with the lease we currently have, they provide the funding and we provide the work. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? All right. Thank you, Mr. Webb. Thank you. All right. Board members were provided attendance report, membership report, and a construction report in their packets. Is there any need to discuss any of these items? If not, we'll move on to comments by the superintendent. All right. Thank you very much. I want to remind and re-invite our high

099school juniors and seniors to our rescheduled mega Genesis program that will be this Saturday March 23rd at 21st at Woodside High School and it's sponsored by Newport News Public Schools and the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. And this is an opportunity to explore colleges, careers, and it really is a beautiful morning. 7.30 to 2 o'clock, the event will go on. So try to get you and your family out there and look at all the opportunities that are at Woodside High School through Megagenesis. There's going to be 45 career workshops. And this is the 20th anniversary of Megagenesis, so it's going to be a big, big event. So be there. This is a very nice week in New Bernese Public Schools, and it's the Plant Services and Custodial Services Appreciation Week. And so I want to take

100a minute to thank our staff, our custodians, and our plant services staff for their dedication and their professionalism. One compliment I always hear, and I'm sure board members hear, is how nice the buildings look. We had a program. at a school the other night and people said is this a new school and it's like no it's 20 years old but it's really really been kept up very very nice so um i want to thank our uh again the custodians and the plant services for all that you do to maintain our buildings and to make our schools and our offices such a great place to come to learn and come to work This is also in March is our Music in our Schools and Youth Art Month. And just to thank our dedicated music and art

101teachers for... building a Newport News community where the arts are really important and really an integral part of what our young people are exposed to. And last but not least, wish everybody a great spring break. It's April 6th to the 10th and all of our schools and our offices will be closed for those days. And so do something fun and come back ready to pass the SOLs. Thank you. Thank you. All right, at this time in the meeting, we have another opportunity for public comments. Do we have any cards? Having none, we'll move on to matters by the school board. So I'll start with Mr. Brown tonight. All right. Well, I'd first like to say that I want to thank my colleague, Ms. Simons, for hosting our VSBA Tidewater Regional Event. That was held at

102Heritage High School, and that was a great event. We had school divisions from around the region got to attend, got to go to Heritage High School and hear about the various programs and the governor's schools and STEM programs that we have going on in Newport News, as well as we had the Woodside Orchestra and the Heritage Choir performed. That was fantastic performances thought I was in a jazz club for a little while there in terms of yeah Some of the performances that were given there, so I want to just thank my colleague miss Simons for stepping up and volunteering to be our regional representative And and putting on a great a great performance there, and I want to thank the superintendent as well and their staff for really putting on a great Great performance in

103the in that heritage Then, well, we have the National School Board convention that's coming up next week, and I'll be attending that. And what I hope to come back is I always want to try to go when you all send me somewhere to learn something. So when I went to the VSBA convention, I learned about the Virginia Star Program and brought that back. I intend to go to the NESBA program and learn about something and bring that back as well. So I just want to make a plug for, again, for the Virginia Star Program that is doing fantastic. Talked to two of the seniors. who are working that program and couldn't be more proud in terms of what Heritage High School has been able to accomplish, what they're putting us on the map in terms

104of one of the only programs of its kind in this region. And we're solving that technology gap, and that's why I asked that question earlier. Let's find out whoever doesn't have a computer because through the Virginia Star program, we're giving them away. So if you're a business and you have a computer that you're no longer in need of, you can give it to our schools. Heritage High School will refurbish the computer, rebuild it, put all the software on it, and then give it to a family that needs a computer in our community so that we can do an online education in this community. So I want to congratulate us on that note. And then finally, I just need to make comments about... our sex education program recently we've reached that part of the year I

105suppose where we're getting into that that module and come to find out through this one is nice things about being a parent is and being an involved parent in the schools is you do you do hear about these things or or find out about them as they're as are happening and so this just got to in our own household the parental notification process and when we notify parents at the high school level. We had that conversation around the dinner table because I found out the child took a, you know, my child took a pre-test in the sex education program and talked to my wife, you know, hey, did you know about this? And no, I didn't know. So come to find out it's a simple, potentially a misunderstanding of definitions of when that sex education

106module or when that curriculum starts. The teacher did not feel that. The pre-test portion had started it, but I felt that it did. So I'd like us to just revisit when that period starts in terms of notification and when we let parents know that we're doing that subject like that. And then that just got me to asking additional questions about the program and when things will be taught and what course materials would be out there. found out that the program itself is is run by a vendor at our high school level so talking about at the elementary middle school level well we do that in-house but at the high school level we have a vendor that does that and right now the materials aren't fully available for parents so I'd like to see that corrected

107as soon as possible so that parents could get all the materials and inform themselves of and avail themselves of the program so they can make informed decisions and help have these conversations with their children. And then finally, as a school board, I think that we should all go through the high school curriculum ourselves, go through the whole course, just so we all know what's in it. And as a board, we collectively know to detail what's in it. And so I'd ask us to take that on as well. Ms. Simons. Well, I can't take too much credit for the regional VSBA forum. All I did was say yes. And I really appreciate Kim Hinton because she basically assured me, I got this, I know how to plan events, and you all did a fantastic job. And

108so I really, really do appreciate it. everyone coming together and making that such a wonderful event. The other thing I attended last weekend was the Artistic Verses at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center. It was a really, really lovely program that they do with our high school students, engaging them in writing poetry and thinking about the art that they have at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center. And I think it's an example of where it really takes the whole community to provide some of wonderful opportunities for our students and it is something I'm so proud of in Newport News Public Schools that we always have so many interesting opportunities out there for our children no matter what they're interested in if it's art if it's poetry if it's music if it's sports and I really do appreciate

109that about our school district thank you my comments are just very very brief I just want to echo the Statements of the superintendent and really want to thank the Budget Committee everybody who's worked on the Budget Committee Really want to thank them so very much because there just were a lot of things that were included I'm just really great or feel very great and feel very good that we were able to provide a raise to our teachers I'm also I'm really really odd and feel very good about the spark program that's going to take place this summer for our children no positions were taken away in the budget situation, which I think is really, really very, very good. And also as we are preparing to open up the new Magruder STEM school, how funds were

110able to be placed into that situation setting. It's going to be a phenomenal school and I'm just simply looking forward to it. So again, many thanks to the Budget Committee, to the community for supporting the budget, to fellow board members, and of course to that. I also wish to share comments. I actually got to sit in a family life course at Macintosh last week on Thursday. The course was taught by Nancy Adams, and she taught it to fifth grade boys. I was just visiting Macintosh, and she pulled me in and had me to come sit. And I thought I was going to sit through the initial part of it, but I sat through the entire class. And I really wrote Ms. Adams back and copied it to the superintendent because Ms. Adams really taught that

111class to fifth grade boys phenomenally well. It was really done very, very well. The kids were engaged, they were listening, they were attentive, they did have questions, but she knew how to respond to them. So here you had a middle-aged woman teaching, but you had fifth grade boys. So the connectivity That had to happen. You know, always hear me talk about relations and connections and everything like that. She was able to establish that, do it exceptionally well, and be able to kind of respond to that. And I do agree with Mr. Brown, where board members should be very aware of that. And it just so happened I got to sit in that class. But the teaching, the instruction, delivery, the kids mastered what they needed to master. And the unique thing about it, and I

112shared this with the superintendent, what the children were learning in fifth grade. way back when I was in high school, it was toward the ninth grade. So the reason why we have to do that, because children are exposed to so many different things now through the Internet, through their music, so they really need to do that. She not only taught them about family life, but she included accountability in the situation and responsibility and decision-making and choices. So she was able to integrate all of that, and she did a phenomenal, phenomenal job in that situation setting. I, too, want to encourage our public to have their children come to Mega Genesis. This is the 20th anniversary. And it's a phenomenal thing that Newport News Public Schools and that the Alpha Phi Alphas do, so it's really

113a unique situation. Also, the other night, I got to go to Heritage High School, and I was very impressed with the children, with the students and their projects centered around the STEM concept. They knew the content. They were able to express it. The vocabulary, the jargons, the terms that they used was done exceptionally, exceptionally well. And you know by now that I always like to end on a positive comment. I have been visiting Newsome Park and Sedgefield, and actually the 100 Black Men Virginia Pinnace chapter is going there tomorrow to do some reading to second graders. And I got to read to Mrs. Turner's second grade class about a week ago, and I was very impressed with the classroom and instruction that was happening there. So I went to the principal's office and commented and

114complimented her on the experience. About two or three weeks ago, before the snowstorm, I was at Sedgefield Elementary School, and If you ever know, I always use the term coined by Dr. Jerome Barber called educara. Well, I'm at Sedgefield, I'm in the hallway, and there's a student approaching and there's a custodian that's standing there in the hallway. And the custodian walks up to the either fourth or fifth grade student and says things such as, you're in school. value your education as you here at Sedgefield Elementary move and progress and he had a poem that I cannot recite but he had the fifth grade student recite the poem. Here it was a custodian which many people may just simply feel that his position is to come and clean the school but his connectivity he understood about

115relations and he was doing that to many many boys that were in this in the school. His name is Wayne Alexander and the student which I got to see was Anton Silver. But I was just awed by the custodian taking his time to encourage this student to value education, to look at your future, to set goals, to have a vision. That's what the custodian did. So when we talk about the Newport News Public Schools family, it is an approach, an eclectic approach, about everybody demonstrating because they are all of our children. And that was displayed and demonstrated at Sedgefield Elementary School, and I got to share that with Shannon Pankow. So I just simply thought that was a really unique and great, great story to kind of share. They are all of our children, and

116many or all of our employees see that, and they displayed and demonstrated that. And again, I just wanted to compliment that. Thank you so very much, Mr. Chairman. our student representative miss ali ali ameed good evening everyone i just have a few comments written down here i'd like to reflect back on the um virginia school board association association's regional forum last week thank you miss simons and miss hinton for organizing such an amazing event um just being there if some of you did not attend um there were various school districts there and they were amazed and inspired by the many presentations that students here in newport news actually put on display for them and it just demonstrated how here in Newport News we are taking extra initiatives to make us college, career, and citizen ready.

117I was extremely proud of the presentation put on by the architectural design program at Heritage. Specifically I got to speak with a ninth grader her name was Ms. Terzinski, correct me if I'm wrong, and just I was amazed by how smart she was. Really smart really smart and I I'm smart as well, but to hear to hear to hear my To hear one of my peers just speak, as Mr. Ashby said, with the jargon that they spoke with was amazing, and it actually put me in awe as well. So I just wanted to comment on how she was a shining example of how bright we are here in Newport News. There was also, progressing through that evening, there was a message delivered that night, and the message was on purpose. And the speaker that night

118actually asked us to listen to his words and actually take them as affirmation that what educators do here in Virginia is amazing. purposeful and it helps the community. It helps shape the face of the community. And so in light of the FY16 budget being passed today, as people, as news of it has percolated through our school system and stuff, people have, you know, taken upon themselves to point out little, little imperfections about it and, you know, make comments. However, That budget serves as affirmation, and kids like Ms. Trusinski serves as affirmation that what we do here in Newport News is not perfect, but it's taking steps toward perfection. So I'd just like to reflect on the regional forum and the shining examples that were put on there and just commend everyone. Thank you. I'd like

119to give congratulations and thanks to the budget committee for giving us a budget plan that we can approve and hopefully move on to the city council and work that through. Also, thinking about the Newport News family, like you were saying. Yeah, Miss Ashley. I'm trying to think. I didn't have a chance to get the young man's name that came back into our school system. He was at Mitchell High School where it was a basketball, like an all-star game going on. And he came out there. He had so much pride about being from Newport News, graduating from Newport News High Schools and everything. And even though... I'm pretty sure no one really understood what was going on. You could just see the pride that he had. He was so proud to have graduated from Newport News

120High School, leave, and be able to come back to the area and share his thoughts and his concerns on what we should do. I just wish I had his name. I would congratulate him and at least try to make an attempt to get in contact with him. Maybe next time I'll have that information. I'm sorry to bring up something not fully. I'll move on. And I'd also like to commend Mr. Maxlow. They were at Charlottesville. They gave the same presentation. And I remember, you know, all the other divisions hearing about how we do our business here in Newport News. And some of the same questions we asked here up here today, he had already answered with detail. And you should have seen the other divisions and what we'd had going on and what our plans

121were and how everything that he brought up. He you know, it wasn't like this was something new. He just already had implemented it and we already had these things going and now we're actually willing to share with other folks. So I enjoyed that part. And Dr. Carey, I mean, another good person. I've watched him over the years. I've seen him at Dutch Hill Elementary using his smart devices, all type devices. The kids can't wait to see him come in the building. You know, he comes in with his case and, you know. I didn't know what was going on at first. I'm like, all right, what is this about? But I slowly figured out. I was never really able to continue to catch them, but I know that technology is being shared and new ideas are

122being presented to our kids, like you were stating. So that's good for staying one step ahead and helping us out here in our school system. Also, yeah, dealing with the budget, I was, Full with the enjoyment on here that there were no no losses, you know, no cuts. So dr. Kilgore, I got a commensurate on that too and Thank you. I mean you guys are doing a great job just like to keep it going and that's all. Thank you Mr. Hicks. Well, thank you very much. I would just like to congratulate the budget committee again because This is tough job and this is what This budget causes us to meet our goals and objectives for developing this type of students that we need and I'm somewhat pleased about having been a teacher. Raises are always

123good. It's a motivating factor and I think we've done a great job here with the budget. And lastly, I would like to say that our students, I talk to them all the time and I can't find one that says anything bad about our schools. I mean we have about 400 kids I come in contact with on the weekend and they say that they are happy, they are doing well and they want to represent the school division very well when they leave. So I want to congratulate all the teachers, of course board members and the superintendent because this budget must be nice because you know we've had some real trying times with budgets but you know when people know that you're doing a good job. when people know that we're doing the best we can our

124teachers are doing a good job and then you won't have all these performances and I want to congratulate superintendent again and budget committee no drama this week can I cut back I'd also like to say, even though I know it's not the largest. I guess accolades you could have. But congratulations to Heritage High Schools, their student athletes, the boys and girls basketball team. I believe they both reached the regionals. And, of course, they didn't make any further than that. But that was a great feat. And then, of course, a couple weeks ago when I was speaking with our old student council members, Ben, the debate team, Warwick High School went over there to Virginia Beach. they represented us well it was so many first-place positions it's something that you know I would love to learn

125more about or have more invites and things like that so if you can give that information to us that would help out in the future thank you mr. chairman as always again I think there are great things happening in Newport News public schools so first by one We failed to mention last week, but first I wanted to recognize our one and only Dr. Kilgore on her recent award from the VCIC and Ameritania Award. Thank you very much. I think a lot of our board members were here. That was well-deserved, as you can see. I can't speak much on the budget. I want to thank the budget committee, Ms. Mary Lou and all them for doing what they do best. Job well done. I'd also like to thank Mr. Smith today, giving us an update on

126Sedgefield and Newsome Park. I did stop by there just before the storm, and as I stated last week, a couple weeks ago, that I see great things are happening also in those schools with the intervention and the specialized, not taking the students out of the classrooms, but them being a part of the classrooms, but getting some specialized attention. Very good. Looking forward to the spark. summer program that's going to be a phenomenal thing talk about 2,000 students that have something to do off the street have something to eat that's real you know that's real education that's smart education also want to thank For all the students who came out and citizens that came out and participated in One City Marathon on Sunday, it was phenomenal. If you were at some of the schools that had

127cheering stations, I was out there. I saw the first runner come through, and about 12, 15, no, not about 8, 15, I guess 8, 10, I was in the Mitchfield area. The next runner was about a half a mile. later. But anyway, I saw some students run, saw some of my neighbors run, I saw a couple of counselors running, so it was phenomenal and I thought it really brought the city to life. So again, great things are happening in Newport News. In the field of sports... I'm gonna have to give a shout out to my daughter Brianna and her relay team at Mitchville High School in the indoor track meet event that was held last Tuesday the men's field girls 4x4 meter relay team won first place took home the gold in there I think

128they're waiting on their rings so yeah so and I hope to see that team again next month at the Philadelphia in Philadelphia at the pin relays Yes, yes. And again, I'm just happy that I'm part of this particular board. If you heard the news today, I woke up this morning and hear about troubles in other school systems, about cutting jobs and cutting programs and dismantling the school systems, you know, here in the 757 area, in our area. And then we're sitting here and able to at least give raises out. We are not losing anyone. We've got these fabulous programs. We've got technology that's far ahead of any of the districts here locally. I am proud to be a member. And each one of the teachers out there looking today, you may not be happy with

129maybe what things that happened with the budget. But I do want to say I do appreciate you for all that you do in teaching our students and our kids to be the best they can be. So congratulations to you. Fabulous work. And as you said, that's your job. That's your purpose. You chose this profession, and this is what you love. And even though you may not like it all the time, you love what you do. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Hunter. And with all of those acknowledgements and calling out those who got awards, whose time are you borrowing from? Dr. Garrett Smith ran in the One City Marathon. He ran eight miles. Nine miles, am I correct? Something like that. So I just want to recognize him. He's also my mentor in

130the morning as far as working on me to lose weight and everything. But the unique thing is he ran eight or nine miles Monday. I mean Sunday. Today he's running on a treadmill and I walk past him and he's running full blast. 30 minutes later, he's still running. And I'm like, how in the world does he do that? But he's somebody that, which I respect and admire very, very much as far as his work that he does here at Newport News Public Schools. But he really takes a lot of time in the morning to really help me out. So I'm very appreciative of that. Thank you so very much. I'm serious. The red light's going to come on. Please. Last call for the night. Since we're talking about being in shape, I do. You got

131a minute. Okay. I would like to have us implement to where there is no cutting or displacement of kids who want to try out for track. When I was in high school, all the kids were allowed to be on the track team. Now, you may not have participated in those events because you weren't good enough, but that's one of the things that I would love to change. We're talking about keeping kids fit and in shape, so allow them to go out there and at least practice and work out with the regular track team. Sorry. Very energetic meeting. Thank you all for everything you brought to tonight's discussion. And I was about to say that Gary Hunter, it looks like he's about to take over the awards program that we do in the front end of

132our meeting here. So it looks like you're well trained. The superintendent handed me a note and wanted me to turn the tables on Mr. Hunter. He was awarded the Trailblazer Award from 100 Black Men, and that was announced this week. Let's give him a round of applause. Great things are happening at Mr. Hunter's camp. In closing tonight's meeting, I'd like to point out that When you get to this point in the budget year and you have the confidence to move forward, get your whole program funded for next year, and do it in a way that is going to address issues like salary increases that have been postponed. to be able to open up a whole new program, which is our summer program, which the superintendent has conceived of as extending the school year and allowing

133students, all students is the vision, and we hope to grow this such that learning doesn't have to stop in June. And we don't have to start from a deficit in September. And that, as my daughters taught me, school is their place. They love being there. That's where our students have their peer groups. That's where they feel the most comfortable. That's where they do most of their growing. For us to be able to... to integrate that into this budget year and take a big stride forward in extending what Newport News Public Schools has to offer all year around and to help our students through youth development activities to grow both in educational means as well as emotional and social means. That's a big step for our division. I don't know of any other division that's taking

134a step like that and we believe that it will affect the lives of our students, it will affect how they develop, and it will lead to the citizens that we hope that they become. So it's been a quiet march towards adopting this budget. But big things have been accomplished. I'd like to thank the superintendent for working with the city and the city manager to pull together this budget. It includes a commitment for additional funding on the city's part of $3 million. That's a big step. And it also includes us appropriating money within our budget that indicates that we really believe this is the direction we need to be going. And lastly, I would point out and add on to Ms. Mead's comments about the event with the VSBA at Heritage that it was, I think,

135four years ago that I went to Heritage. Now, being an architect, I would have had an interest in looking at the drafting program they were running. And so I looked, and since then, we've made an enormous, enormous stride in the technological level that our students are being exposed to. What was on display that night, the first student I talked to was designing his own computer game. And he'd written the code and he built the model for it and that's what he wanted to do. And he went painstakingly through how all the flaws in it and how he wanted more computer power and he wanted to be able to make it more realistic, make it feel like you were really inside of the space. Then I moved on to the guy who wants to become the

136architect, and I was really proud to see that we'd been able to answer that need and bring these kids up to the cutting edge. I mean, he's using a tool that we use every day, and when he finishes as a senior, he's going to be able to walk right out and compete for a job. So his education... will leave him positioned to walk into the working world. That's what we want for our children. Okay, and then if you really weren't satisfied at that, you just had to take two more steps over. There was a young lady with a 3D printer, and she was printing three-dimensional blocks. You just you just had to savor the moment when the some of the Virginia Beach School Board members were standing there and And and commenting that wow, you

137know, is this really going on over here? So when we adopt a budget tonight We're funding the future and it's important, you know that this presentation on technology tells us about a plan to keep up with the ever-changing forefront of technology. And we're doing it. And we need to keep up with that because our kids want to operate at the forefront of technology. Even though that, you know, us adults may want to stop a few steps short, they want to be out at the front leading edge. And we've got to be out there. So I'm pleased that we're planning and integrating these things and that our kids are now our best ambassadors. So thank you. Thank you, Superintendent Kilgore. Thank you to all the staff, the budget committee. Let's keep looking into the future and

138make sure that we plan to get there. And if there's nothing further, I don't think we have a need for a closed session. We stand adjourned. Good night.