School Board Meeting - September 23, 2025

001[Music] The date is September 23rd, 2025. The time is 1,800 hours and I would like to call the Frederick County School Board meeting to order. We have an agenda before us. Do I have a motion for approval? Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve the agenda as presented. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? We have an agenda. Madame vice chair. What is the pleasure of the board? >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the county school board of Frederick County, Virginia, enter a close session meeting for the following. One, to discuss, review, and discuss appointments, administrative appointments, administrative leave, declined offers, dismissals, resignations, support staff hires, substitutes, tutors, and volunteers pursuant to Virginia Code section 2.2-3711, paragraph A.1 and

002two, to review and discuss individual student matters that would involve specific students and particular information contained in their scholastic records, including requests for release from compulsory attendance for religious reasons pursuant to Virginia Code section 2.2. 2-3711 paragraph A.2. >> We have a motion to go into close session. >> Second. >> We have a second. >> Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Any opposed? We are now in close session and we'll reconvene at 1900 hours. [Music] Madame vice chair. >> Mr. Chair, I move that we reconvene from close session. >> Second. >> We have a motion to return from closed session. It's been properly seconded. Is there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Madam vice

003chair. >> Mr. Chair, I move that the best to that to the best of each board member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open media requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act were discussed in the closed session and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed session was convened were heard, discussed or considered by the school board. >> Second. >> We have a motion to certify the closed session and it has been properly seconded. Is there any discussion hearing? None. Madame clerk, call the role, please. >> Miss Martin, >> here. >> Mrs. Caruso, >> here. >> Mr. Rebell, >> yep. >> Mrs. Sturdivan. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Klene, >> I. >> Dr. Erskin, >> I. >> Mr. Atkins, >> I. All right. Just for my

004own kicks and giggles, can you folks hear us out there? >> I was just curious because I couldn't hear him at the board of supervisors meeting the other night. All right, then. >> And Mr. Chair, I move that the board recess its meeting until 700 p.m. >> Second. >> Been motioned to recess until 1900 hours and properly seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? And we are recessed. [Music] All right, it's 1900 hours. Um, I'm going to ask everyone to join me in a moment of silence, please. >> Actually, we need to re reconvene for >> reconvene. I thought we already did that. >> And Mr. Chair, >> I'm trying to >> I told you I don't read directions. >> And Mr. Chair, I

005move that the board reconvene it meeting. >> Second. We have a motion which has been vigorously seconded. Is there any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Now >> actually and Mr. Chair, we have two motions out of close session. Uh the first motion I move the board approve the personal actions as recommended by the superintendent. >> Second. >> Motion has been made, properly seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. >> Any opposed? And Mr. Chair, I move that the board approve the release of student AB B CD E F G H I N J from compulsory attendance. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and properly second. And any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying

006I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> I didn't read that page. >> And that completes the motions. Out of close session, Mr. Chair. Now, please join me in a moment of silence. And I personally would like to dedicate this moment of silence to Charlie Kirk. Thank you for joining me in that moment of silence. And tonight we're going to be led in the pledge of allegiance by Bennett Wise from Milbrook High School. 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. Thank you very much for doing that, sir. All right. Next is the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve? >> Mr. Chair, I move that we approve

007the consent agenda before us. >> Second. >> We have a motion to approve. It has been properly seconded. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? We have an agenda. Up next is our student and staff recognitions and I'm going to pass that off to our fantastic superintendent. >> If I may, Mr. Chair, can we read the proclamations that we >> Yeah, >> Mr. Chair, it looks like we have uh three proclamations. We have uh bullying prevention month followed by National School Lunch Week followed by National Bus Safety Week and I believe the bullying prevention month. Was that >> That's me. >> Yep. >> Okay. A proclamation Virginia School Board Association Bullying Prevention Month October 2025. Whereas school bullying is an issue which requires

008continued focus and prevention efforts. And whereas bullying can take many forms and can happen in many places on and off school grounds. And whereas it's important for parents, students, teachers, and school administrators to be aware of bullying and to encourage discussion of the problem as a school community. And whereas Frederick County Public Schools has a character education program which promotes the core character traits of respect, integrity, citizenship, honesty, empathy, caring, and responsibility. And whereas Frederick County Public Schools adopted a human rights policy in 1993, which recognizes the importance of each student being able to come to school and enjoy freedom from intimidation or discrimination by threat, force, violence, or harassment. And whereas Frederick County Public Schools has an established bullying prevention program which encourages students to discuss bullying and report any incident of bullying to

009adults. And whereas students and members of the community are becoming more engaged in activities to combat and array and raise awareness about the issue of bullying. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Frederick County School Board hereby declares October 2025 as Virginia School Board Association Bullying Prevention Month with the intention that the issue of bullying and its prevention continue to be discussed in Frederick County Public Schools and in our community dated this 23rd day of September 2025. >> Mr. Chair, proclamation National School Lunch Week, October 13 to 17, 2025. Whereas the National School Lunch Program has served our nation admirably since 1946 through advanced practices in nutrition education. And whereas the National School Lunch Program is dedicated to the health and well-being of our nation's children. And whereas the National School Lunch Program has been

010joined through the years by many other excellent childfeeding programs. and there is evidence of continued need for nutrition education and awareness of the value of school nutrition programs. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Frederick County School Board hereby declares the week of October 13-1 17, as National School Lunch Week and encourages all residents to become aware of and concerned about their children's and their own nutrition habits in hope of achieving a healthier citizenry today and in the future. dated this 23rd day of September, 2025. >> Mr. Chairman, proclamation of the National School Bus Safety Week. Whereas National School Bus Safety Week is an active continuing public education program designed to promote school bus safety. And whereas the safety of school age children is important to parents, family members, teachers, school staff, and citizens. And

011whereas it is estimated that each week 350,000 cars nationwide ignored the flashing red lights on school buses and pass buses during loading and unloading procedures. And whereas motorists can assist in keeping students safe by complying with traffic signals, observing traffic patterns, and by stopping when school buses are loading and unloading students. And whereas National School Bus Safety Week recognizes the hard work and dedication of school transportation personnel, especially the many school bus drivers who ensure a safe journey to and from school for students each day. And whereas the Frederick County Public Schools Transportation Department strives to provide safe, reliable transportation to students and completes in excess of 750 runs covering roughly 12,000 miles per day and more than 2.4 million miles each year. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that the Frederick County School Board hereby

012recognizes the week of October 20 through 24 of the year 2025 as National School Bus Safety Week and encourages all residents to become aware and concerned about the safety of children as they are being transported to and from school. Dated this 23rd day of September, the year 2025. you okay now? >> Thank you, sir. >> Now, I will pass it off to our fantastic superintendent, Dr. Hummer. >> All right. Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Now, for our awards of excellence program, I want to thank everybody for coming this fantastic evening. Before we proceed, I would like to ask that everybody stay here through the entire program out of respect for each individual who is being recognized this evening. Once we've completed all of the PR presentations, you will have an opportunity to leave and

013enjoy the rest of your evening. In addition, when you come forward for your certificate, please take a moment to pause with Mr. Sturdivan and myself for a photograph. Then move to your right, remain at the front, and we'll take a photo of students and coaches if you are part of a team. So, Mr. Sturdivan, if you can join me down front. Thank you, sir. >> Traumatize them kids. In June, FFA students from Frederick County and Robert E. Aaylor middle schools traveled for to Virginia Tech in Blackburg, Virginia for the Virginia FFA state convention. The results are as follow. Representing Frederick County Middle School, plant science team. Second place, Elizabeth Lamar. [Applause] Daniel Krauss. [Applause] Gage Ordorf [Applause] and Madison Vinskosski. [Applause] representing Robert E. Aaylor Middle School food and fiber team. Second place, Neville Patton.

014[Applause] >> Lyric Dodson. [Applause] Aiden Sveti. [Applause] and Landon Wilkins. [Applause] for the small companion animal care team. First place, Emma Walco. [Applause] Madison Stroider. [Applause] Jenna Rose. [Applause] The FFA quiz bowl team second place in written test and the oral round. Ella Doco. [Applause] David Dodson. [Applause] and Vivian Hefern. [Applause] Agra Science Mechanics Team second place, Aiden Morland. [Applause] Dimmitri Noah [Applause] Nick Jenkins [Applause] >> and Jeremy Lightig. Jeremy Leid. [Applause] All right. If Bennett Weiss could come forward. Bennett Weiss has been named as semi- finalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Bennett is one of 16,000 high school seniors to receive such recognition this year. Over 1.3 million juniors from about 20,000 high schools across the country enter the competition. Semi-finalists represent less than 1% of US high school seniors. To enter the

015National Merit Scholarship Program, students had to meet a certain score for the PSAT NMSQT. This was administered as juniors. And congratulations to Bennett. >> Good job. All right. Now, we would like to recognize our exceptional group of individuals within Frederick County Public Schools. The hard work of our school bookkeepers has led to a truly remarkable accomplishment. For the second consecutive year, they have achieved a zero findings audit for the student activities fund. This remarkable achievement reflects their unwavering commitment to financial excellence. Judy Ristler from Apple Pyidge Elementary. [Applause] Thank you. [Applause] Deanna Whitaker, Indian Hollow Elementary School. Kim Eaton, Jameswood High School. Lisa Taylor with ENREP. [Applause] Janice Hot, Orchard View Elementary School. and Lisa Minnie with Sharando High School. Perfect. [Applause] All right. Okay. The inspiration award is given to a staff member who

016did something inspirational for the students, staff, parents, or community as a whole. Tonight's recipient is Sheila Hushman, an analyst with our finance department. Sheila was nominated by 11 different FCPS school bookkeepers for her her unwavering support. Here's several comments provided by those who nominated her. She is always there for us when we call or email needing assistance. She goes to the school and helps us stay current with work if we unexpectedly have to be away for an expended extended period of time. Sheila is always very kind, patient, and very supportive. Sheila is the bookkeeper's right hand. She is always the person I call when issues arise that I am unable to solve. Congratulations to Sheila. Oh no. >> May I just say in the moment that this is the best part of being on the

017school board is getting to recognize all the wonderful students and all the wonderful staff that we have. With that said, uh, our superintendent is going to, uh, talk about administrative appointments. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I think you'll keep that sentiment going to add to our administrators to this amazing team of individuals here in Frederick County. So, we do have some administrative appointments, so just bear with us here. First is the new principal of Apple Pyidge Elementary, Mrs. Bethany Krauss. Please come on forward. Mrs. Krauss is transitioning into this new role as the recent assistant principal at Apple Pie Ridge. She's devoted her career to Apple Pie Ridge Elementary, having served there as an intervention resource teacher for four years and a kindergarten teacher for 11 years. She holds a bachelor's in

018elementary education from Shepard University, a master's in educational leadership from James Madison University. Please join me in congratulating her on her new role. So, first I have to say Dr. Hummer, he he was at Apple Pyidge today and he was introducing and said I'd been there for 47 years. Um, and I said I'm not even 40 yet, so I'm doing pretty good. Um, but I do want to take this time to thank each one of you board members, Dr. Hummer, Miss Knight, Mr. Thompson um for the opportunity. I have been at Apple Pyidge. Um it is home and I truly feel blessed and honored to be able to serve the students and the teachers and the families. And so I'm looking forward to this opportunity um to to serve in that capacity. And we have

019a great great community and I'm just really excited and honored to to have it. So thank you. >> Thank you. Next, I would like to call up Mr. Jonathan Faringer as our new supervisor of school counseling and 504s. Come on up, please. You recently served as a student support specialist since 2019 and lead school counselor at Admiral Bird Middle School for the prior 14 years. Thank you for your service. Before joining joining Frederick County Public Schools, he served as a clinical supervisor, forensics therapist, mobile crisis team member, therapeutic staff support member, a truency officer, and a private investigator. To say the least, he is prepared to do this job. >> Mr. Finger holds a bachelor of arts in sociology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and a master's in secondary school counseling from Indiana University of

020Pennsylvania. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Finger to his new role. Congratulations. Good evening, Mr. Chair, Dr. Hummer, Mr. Thompson, Miss Knight, and members of the school board and community. I'm very honored and grateful to accept the position of supervisor of school counseling, social workers, and section 504. I want to thank Mrs. Knight, Mr. Strong, Mrs. Duckworth, and members of the selection committee for this incredible opportunity. I'm excited to serve the student, staff, and families of Frederick County Public Schools. Our work as school counselors and social workers is vital. I look forward to the privilege of working alongside a team of dedicated counselors and social workers who are truly on the front lines making a profound impact on our students lives. Thank you. >> Next up is Denise Ordorf as our new instructional uh supervisor

021of instructional technology and innovation. Come on forward, please. Miss Orornfp has most recently served as an instructional technology coach supporting Apple Pie Ridge Elementary School, Middletown, and ENREP. Before FCPS, she worked for Shannondoa County Public Schools for 27 years as an instructional tech technology resource coach, computer lab teacher, and elementary classroom teacher. A lot of experience. Miss Ordorf holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from James Madison University, master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix, and a certification in computer science career studies from Laurel Ridge Community College. Welcome, Mrs. Ordorf. >> Thank you, board members, and Dr. Hummer. I'm truly honored and humbled to serve as a supervisor of instructional technology and innovation for our division. I'm excited to work alongside our instructional technology coaches and the curriculum and instructional teams in

022our county to ensure our students are engaged and empowered in all their learning. Thank you for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve you and this division. >> Thank you. Next up is Rachel Reid as our new coordinator of K12 social sciences. Please come forward. Mrs. Reed has served as a social studies teacher at Jameswood High School since 2008. Thank you for your service. She holds a bachelor's in social studies education from Mercyhurst University and a master's in education from James Madison University. Please join me again in welcoming you to your new role. >> Dr. Dr. Hummer and members of the board, thank you so much for this opportunity. Um, I truly feel that investing in education in the community that you live is always the right choice and I feel like if I can

023support teachers throughout um, bettering our educational system, then I'm excited for the job. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Next up is Mr. Brandon Kaitton. Please come on forward, please, as the new director of facility services. Mr. Kaitton also has a plethora of services uh where he recently served as the director of operational safety and facilities for Jefferson County Schools in West Virginia. During Mr. Kaitton's long-standing career with Jefferson County Schools, he served also served as an assistant principal for three years, headteer for three years, and a PE teacher for five years. He holds a bachelor of arts and secondary education from Shepard University and a master's in educational leadership from Wheeling Jesuit University. Please join me in welcoming Brandon to Frederick County Public Schools. Uh good evening. First off, I just want

024to say thank you to all the members of the board. Dr. Hummer, um thank you for this opportunity. I'm extremely excited. Uh, I appreciate it and I'm looking forward to uh continuing all the great work in the facilities here in Frederick County Schools. >> Thank you. >> All right, we got two more here, Mr. Chair. Next up, I would like to call down Melissa Haymon, who is our new assistant principal of Jameswood High School. Come on down. She recently served as a special education teacher at Jameswood High since 2020 and as a special education lead for the past year. She previously served as a special education teacher at Jameswood Middle School for 5 years and a special instructional assistant at Sharando High School for 10 years. Again, thank you for your service to Frederick County

025Public Schools. She also was a supervisor of the adult day program at Community Alternatives of Virginia for three years. She holds an associates degree in general studies from Lord Fairfax Community College, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from ODU, a master's degree in special education from Regent University, and a certificate educational leadership from Salem University. So again, plethora of of schooling there. Please join me again in welcoming you to your new role. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Hummer, members of the board, and everyone involved in the selection process. I am so honored to accept this role and I'm grateful for the trust placed in me to support our students, our staff, and our community. I'm committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and inspiring learning environment each and every day. Thank you so much. >>

026All right, last but not least is our new HR supervisor of recruitment, retention, and engagement, Mr. Daniel Lest. Please come on forward, please. Mr. West comes to FCPS from Frederick County Community College where he has served since 2019, most recently as a talent acquisition manager and a title 9 coordinator. Previously, he was a talent management coordinator as well. His pre prior five years of experience include serving as an HR generalist at North Spring Behavioral Healthcare, recruiter at American Public University, nurse recruitment coordinator at Valley Health System, and recruitment coordinator at Shirts Communications Incorporated. Mr. West holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Shepard University and a master's degree in management with concentration in HR from American Public University System. We are looking forward to what you can bring here to Frederick County Schools. He

027is also a Society for Human Resources Management senior certified professional. Please join me in welcoming Mr. West to Frederick County Public School. >> Yes, Dr. R, members of the board, thank you so much. Uh, thank you for having me here this evening. I just want to thank everybody that was in on my uh panels, uh, including my most recent one, um, Mr. Thompson, Kristen, Rachel back there. um just so very grateful to be a part of this team and look forward to continuing the great work that they've done just bringing in um the uh great staff and educators that we have within our county as well as retaining the ones that we already have. So looking forward to it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That is it, Mr. Chair. Thank you. >> All right.

028At this point, we'd like to pause for a few moments to allow those who would like to leave uh to do so and enjoy the rest of your evening. If you'd like to stay, please feel free to do so. [Music] All right. Well, we're going to start. We're going to continue and drive on here. Next up is citizen comments. Fer County School Board is pleased to receive public comments at each monthly meeting from members of the public, which include residents Frederick County, Virginia, including residents of Winchester City, Virginia, FCPS students, parents, and legal guardians of FCPS students, FCPS employees, and businesses located within Frederick County, Virginia. Individuals speaking to the board will be allotted three minutes. Those individuals representing groups organizations will be allotted five minutes with one representative per group. Upon recognition by the

029chair, speaker should approach approach the lectern to speak to the school board. Members of the audience and speakers are expected to be courteous to others and model for students how to respectfully participate in public meetings by speaking and behaving in such a manner that adheres to the FCPS code of student conduct. Complaints regarding FCPS employees should first be submitted to the school principal or to the schoolboard office. Complaints regarding individual students should be submitted to the school principal or the appropriate school official. School board is committed to showing respect and courtesy to all citizens. Comments that are not protected under the first amendment of the amendment of the US Constitution will not be tolerated. This includes comments that are vulgar, obscene, threatening, and comments that are intended to incite violence or other breaches of the

030peace. Members of the audience are not permitted to interrupt the speaker or meeting by asking questions or making comments. Signs, poster, placers, banners, or like objects are permitted into the school board's meetings only if the individual possession such items remain in the back of the room so as not to restrict the view of those attending the meeting in person. Violation of the guidelines will result in the chair ruling the speaker out of order. Continued violation may result in removal from the premises. Chair has a discretion concerning public participation at schoolboard meetings. Schoolboard meetings are tape recorded for the purpose of clarification and development of official minutes. Uh Mr. Nur, you are up, sir. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Brian Nurim, president of the Opekin District. I'd like to address some comments

031that were made at recent committee meetings concerning vaping. Uh, most notably, Vice Chair Klein, at the August Building and Grounds Committee meeting, you commented that students caught with vapes should be turned over to the SRO for punitive consequences and to make the punishment so severe they'll never touch it again. To quote, "Are them, give them some jail time, whatever it takes. They're possessing it illegally. It's in the school." While technically true that it is illegal, the penalty for underage possession of nicotine derived products in Virginia consists at most of a penalty of up to $100 or up to 20 hours of community service for the first offense and a civil penalty up to $250 uh for subsequent violations. So increasing the penalties isn't really in this board's power and it's excessive. And then to prove

032that, according to the NIH, juveniles who are criminally uh punished for misdemeanor have a 30% chance of reaffending and an 11% chance of being convicted again. A 2018 study by the University of Tennessee cites the problem of sending juveniles to criminal punishment as a sim as has a similar likelihood of becoming uh adult offenders, proving that the schoolto prison pipeline that most schools want to avoid, especially for black and brown students where they're disproportionately punished. However, the most common solution to the vaping problem is installing sensors. Systems across the nation are installing these sensors like Halo to detect students vaping. However, recent reports by NBC 4 and Fox 5, dated September 17th and 18th, spotlighted reports from Stafford County, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland, showing issues of false alarms being triggered by something as simple

033as flushing toilets, spraying perfume, and deodorants, generating hundreds, if not thousands of false reports daily. Some schools reporting up to 60% false triggers. If this county is considering spending the estimated $1.1 million on these sensors, we might want to look into something more coste effective like add addiction counseling for children and parents. But if we are going to drop a hammer on kids for simply possessing nicotine products on campus, we can add a fourth E to the desired outcomes of FCPS students, making it employed, enlisted, enrolled, also entered into the system. Now, with my remaining 30 seconds, I'd like to hold a moment of silence for the students uh at Evergreen High School who had a shooting at September 10th. Uh Cody Becker, Mark Baker, and Isaiah Emanhauser, the three officers killed in Pennsylvania on

034September 17th, and the more than 300 fatal victims during 300 plus mass shootings across the country this year. So, if you join me a moment of silence for them as well. Thank you very much. >> All right. Next up is the superintendent's report. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. First, I would like to thank the school board for all the proclamations that you recognize and for this month recognizing school bus safety, our school lunch staff and bullying prevention month, which are all very, very important. As we know, our bus drivers, aids, and transportation office work tirelessly to ensure our students get to school safely and on time. We have a fantastic start to this year, and that is a large part to ensuring that our routing is done efficiently and safely. I also want

035to thank our cafeteria workers for their efforts in serving not only nutritious meals but very tasty as well in making sure that our students have food every single day. They are a significant backbone to our organization and we thank them for their dedication and support. And lastly, we take bullying very seriously as you know. We have structures and supports in place so that our students and staff feel that if they have been bullied or witnessed bullying that they have a place to go so we can work through those processes accordingly. Bullying leads to very serious mental health complications and issues and we want to make sure that we are staying on the proactive side of these issues in our schools. Thank you so much for your efforts in partnering with us in making sure that

036we are putting these preventive measures in place to prevent these bullying behaviors. I am also significantly proud of our students and staff to share the same sentiment that Mr. Sturdivan shared earlier. I want to also welcome all of our new administrators, which by the way, those were all administrators. That was a domino effect because we believe in building from within and we're looking forward to all of the great work that they will continue here in Frederick County. I also want to give second accolade to our all of our bookkeepers for that perfect audit. I need everybody to know and understand that that is not easy and Mrs. Anderson will share with you that that is a lot of work. That is a lot of dedication and they make a lot of enemies that way because

037they tell people you can't do that. So, I thank them for their tireless efforts because when we say we're good stewards of our dollar, we are good stewards of our dollar. And that is why. So, thank you, Mrs. Anderson, for your leadership, for leading your team to making sure these teams take these audits very, very seriously. We continue to have a phenomenal start to this school year. Operationally, our buses continue to run very, very smoothly. Breakfast and lunches, as I mentioned, continue to be very served in a very, what I like to say, tasty manner, as well as our front office staffs continue to be a positive voice for this school division. Our teachers and aids have also done an amazing job transitioning into this new year as they manage their day-to-day along with adjusting

038to these new instructional changes we are implementing with the roll out of our new strategic plan, which we are all very excited about. I am very proud of our progress. We still have a lot of work to do and we have the right people to make those gains. With that being said, however, we sent out communication to all of our staff and parents about the new proposed cut scores at the state level and we are also providing you the board with this information as well. I want to make it very very clear that I and our team here is unwavering when it comes to raising the bar for our students as they always live up to the standard we establish in order for them to be successful in the next stages of their careers. That

039is without question. However, changing the scores in the middle of a year creates some very serious pivoting and complications for our building level staff. and we are very concerned about that. We've made some serious progress last this past year based on the targets that were established in the beginning of the year and provided by the state at that time. We also know that the areas we need to continue to improve and those areas we will continue to address. For all the staff here listening as well as the staff that are here in the audience, please continue to stay the course and we will prevail. Our students will be successful and meet those standards. Resilience is one of our best characteristics as educators and we will get through this. Please, please do not think of yourself

040any less than a great educator as you are. As we continue to receive this information, we will continue to provide updates. And again, I just want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to the progress that we are making and will continue to make. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And that's all I have at this time. >> All right. Up next is the gifted advisory committee report. Good evening, Mr. Chair, Dr. Hummer, members of the school board. I'm very pleased tonight to introduce two members uh the leadership of our gifted advisory committee. Um they are represent our parent leadership. We have Courtney Barnhart who is our gifted advisory chair and Maggie Kinsey who is our vice chair. Um so the gifted advisory committee uh we just started our work and it really

041serves two purposes. We have two deliverables. So we will review the local plan for gifted education. Um we determine then to the extent to which that plan was implemented in the previous year and then a year from now we will be back to make recommendations um to our superintendent and to the school board. A quick snapshot of of gifted education. So we we serve gifted learning in two areas. um one our gifted academic program which is general intellectual aptitude meaning that we serve students who demonstrate high ability across a variety of areas um not just a specific aptitude for English or math. Um we have our staffing our teachers um they they serve multiple schools. So for example at the elementary level we have four teachers uh who serve 12 schools. They're responsible for the

042screening, the evaluating, the instruction, and also collaborating with colleagues to differentiate curriculum to make sure our high achieving students are receiving appropriate instruction. At the middle and high school level, we serve through uh elective classes and um a gifted independent study in which students are given a community-based mentorship and then um also through our governor school program. So, Mountain Vista Governor School and Regional Governor School programs. We also serve gifted visual arts. Um, so these are students in grades three through eight who have a a high aptitude for uh artistic creativity and expression. And our art teachers um in in the schools uh they provide that instruction. They provide uh pull out gifted art classes. And then we have some advanced elective classes built into our our schedule with the um with our gifted advisory

043committee. We met uh we had our first meeting last month and this was the first review of the local plan for gifted education. Um so we don't have any formal recommendations tonight, but our committee leadership is going to talk a little bit about their role and some of their findings in that first review of the plan. Thank you. >> Good evening, Mr. >> Chair, if I may. So, we have the presentation up there as well if you want to scroll through that. >> Sure. >> There you go. >> There we go. That's good. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, maybe just stop here. >> All right. So, good evening. I am the gifted advisory chair. My name is Courtney Barnhart. I have one gifted student in Jameswood High School and another gifted student at

044Apple Py Ridge Elementary. I am passionate about making sure all students in the gifted program at every grade level have access to the support and opportunities they need to thrive. Our committee is made up in part of six parents with children in gifted programs throughout the school division, including elementary, middle, high school, and Mountain Vista Governor's School. Our bylaws do call for at least 10 parent members. So, we are currently looking for more parents to join and help represent our gifted education community. Can I leave that up there? I'm not a good public speaker, so bear with me, please. Hi, I am the vice chair of the gifted advisory committee. My name is Maggie Kinsey and I have one child in the gifted program at Gainesboro Elementary. I chose to serve on the gifted advisory

045committee because I'm deeply connected to this school system. I was a student in Frederick County Public Schools and I now serve as a social worker for Frederick County Public Schools. I care deeply about the well-being and success of all students and I'm committed to helping shape a program that supports and challenges gifted learners in me meaningful ways. The committee benefits from the expertise of five professionals uh staff members from Frederick County Public Schools that include administrators, a school counselor, and a teacher. They represent all grade levels to provide diverse insights into gifted education. >> We touched on some of this. This next slide just gives a a snapshot a brief overview of of our gifted services. Um so we you can see we have gifted academic and our gifted visual arts. Those numbers there that

046represents the number of students that we have on our rosters. That number is always changing. So that's what we had I think ended last year with um and so those numbers um we're constantly getting referrals and doing new evaluations. Um I will direct you to the the last column with the new new enrollment. And so this shows uh referrals uh through the eligibility process. And so on the top there you can see um at the elementary level we received 208 referrals for gifted education. um 67 of those students were found eligible and across the board about 60% of our referrals come from professional staff, 30% are parent referrals and then we pick up about another 10% um with students transferring into Frederick County that were identified as gifted in another school division. Um with the

047identification for visual arts, it's a little different because our we don't have nearly as many parent referrals. Our art teachers do the majority of the screening through structures they have set up. Um so they they are they they have a screening process and they are are collaborating and working with classroom teachers to talk about students who they know have a high aptitude for um artistic expression and creativity. Okay. So Mr. Lingal uh mentioned that we have met one time. So our committee came together and for basically the entire committee it was the first time we had all taken a look at the 2023 to 2029 local plan. But in that meeting, we began identifying key strengths, questions to explore for further exploration and we explored share aspirations for the future of this program or identified

048aspirations for the future of this program. From that initial review, we have identified four foundational strengths that reflects the district's commitment to a comprehensible comprehensive, equitable, and transparent approach to gifted education. First, our committee role is grounded in a shared understanding of the foundational elements of the district's plan and a broad inclusive definition of giftedness. Second, we are committed to supporting a fair and comprehensive identification process that uses multiple data points to recognize potential in all students. Next, through clear timelines and a transparent referral process, we work to ensure families are informed and engaged every step of the way. Lastly, we advocate for equitable representation across all student groups, helping to ensure that talent is recognized and nurtured in every classroom. With those strengths in mind, I'll now turn it over to Maggie, who will

049walk us through the key questions we've identified for further exploration, as well as the aspirations guiding our committee's ongoing work. Thank you, Courtney. As Courtney mentioned, as a committee, we are focused on exploring key questions about access and support within the gifted program while also working toward shared aspirations for a more inclusive, equitable, and enriching experience for all gifted learners. In reviewing the local plan, our committee identified several important questions to explore further. First of which include the resources and opportunities available for high achieving students in today's educational landscape. Second, we want to examine the particulars of the gifted screening process specifically at the elementary level. Third, we are examining how the general intellectual aptitude as well as the visual and performing arts models are being implemented. Lastly, we wish to explore how gifted education

050can more intentionally connect with career and technical education pathways. As we continue to review the local plan, our committee also noted and outlined key aspirations to help grow and strengthen the gifted program. They include improving parent communication to better inform families of available opportunities, as well as reviewing staffing to enhance student support and collaboration with general education teachers and ensuring educators have access to efficient, effective tools for screening, evaluation, and instruction. At this point, I will turn it back over to Mr. Lingal who will wrap up our presentation. >> And really to wrap up I would just like to thank Miss Barnhart and Miss Kinsey um for many of those those advisory members in our first meeting having it was their first time looking at the local plan. the the questions that they were asking

051were thoughtprovoking and deep and and really made our professional staff think about how we are meeting the needs of of not just gifted but all of our all of our high achieving students and so I I see this committee doing you know doing great work and I look forward to the continued collaboration. Uh do you all have any questions for the committee? >> Mr. Chair, um more of a comment um and then a question. Um, I'm glad to see under under the questions that you uh recognize that we have some gifted and talented students at the career and technical education level and those students, it seems like they get left out with this aspect of education. I don't know how you would go about tackling that. Um, but I know that we've got um people

052here in the audience that are over at DAO J that would um uh really uh be beneficial in helping uh to to collaborate with on that. Um I just, you know, I'm glad that they're being recognized and um I look forward to seeing um where that goes. So I appreciate that. >> You're welcome. we within our our high school gifted independent study um that places students with a community based work uh work-based mentorship um and they're doing very high level research and and there's there's a very strong alignment to CTE and so we're we just need to look at kind of what the next iteration of that might may be >> 100%. Thank you. [Music] Uh if I may, I would when I was looking at the graph, um I noticed that there's a deficiency

053as they get older. And are you looking into that and trying to raise the bar on that? >> So that that reflects referrals over the course of one school year. The goal is to identify all of our students early. um you know and so we do the majority of our evaluations in elementary school and then in middle we we typically will find a few in middle school um but we we try to have a strong screening process at the elementary level so that we're we're identifying all of our students early on who need additional support so that we can begin really extending and enriching um their academic experience. >> I can see that. But as time goes on, they seem to lose interest or something happens. >> Yeah. And as as students get into middle

054and high school, they also get involved in other things. And so some of the gifted classes are elective classes. Um we have students that want to participate in fine arts or they may want to take CTE classes. And so um whereas the elementary uh is pull out instruction um they they move into middle school and high school and now they have all of these options to explore which we want them to explore options. Um but we want to set a high standard for learning and for enriching their experience no matter which pathway that they take. >> Thank you. >> Anything else? >> Thank you so much very much. Great job. At this time, it uh gives me pleasure to uh ask Miss Elise Steiner, I hope I got your last name right. As she's coming

055up here, she's going to give her a bright futures report. I I can tell you that having worked with her several times over the last how many ever months it's been. If you've never been there to see what they do at Bright Futures and the impact that they have on the community, then you really need to go out and and she enjoys showing people what she does, but I'm going to tell you, she does an excellent job and it it's vital what she does for our community. Sorry to take up your time, but >> you can talk all night. Thank you very much. Thank you for that fabulous introduction. Hi again. My name is Elise and I have the privilege of facilitating the Bright Futures program. Um, serving Frederick County, Winchester City students with their

056most basic needs and making sure they are ready to come to school with every possible tool at our very generous community's disposal ready to help them. This presentation is for information and no actions are recommended at this time. You'll see this slide again at the end, but I suppose I have to read it out to you since it's here. I'm going to touch on a few key things here today. Um, our most recent um most recent initiatives and things that are coming up. So, first thing is our food program, the real bread and butter of what Bright Futures does. Uh, pun intended. When hungry bellies are in our classrooms, they have no ears. There is no learning when our children in our schools are hungry. That is why it is our number one focus at

057Bright Futures. Three ways we address that. Our most recent um initiatives, we have our summer food distribution, which I'll touch on quickly, as well as our weekend food packs, which is probably what we're most well known for, and then our new inschool food pantries, which I believe are the way of the future and very exciting for me at Bright Futures to talk about. From there, I'm going to touch on our back to school support because we are just about finished with that season. Very happy to hear that. And then of course our back to school basic needs assistance which what that really means are the most basic items that we are helping with our for our students um to provide for our students. That means things like coats, shoes on feet, sleeping bags for a

058child without a bed. The most basic need items that you can imagine that can make all the difference between a child finding success in school and not making it in that next day. >> So we're going to jump right into some food updates. The most recent big accomplishment for Bright Futures was our summer food distribution. This is an amazing program made possible through staff and volunteer staff throughout the summer months in June, July, and August where we drive all the way from Gore down south to Middletown and everywhere in between to our hotspots of need and to make sure that our kids and our schools that may not have access to fresh food and vegetables, even milk and eggs this year for the first time have access to food. This is such an incredible resource

059for our families and the best thing is that every single thing we get for this program is donated and the only thing it costs is our time. And so we have some incredible folks in our community staff here that take time out of their busy schedules to make this happy happen. And let me tell you, there is nothing like giving a child a fresh pineapple on a hot day and milk and eggs to a mom who you can see that is just holding on by a thread. So this incredible program, it is all possible by these great volunteers. And so we want to thank them first and foremost. But we could never ever accomplish our weekend food pack without volunteers. For about 30 weeks of the year, on the weekends, we send these food packs

060home with our students. A food pack is eight food items, which replicates basically what you would get at a free and reduced lunch. Two breakfast, two lunch, uh two snacks, a fruit, and a vegetable. And we find that it's just enough that even a kindergartener could carry at home. and enough that hopefully when you come back to school on Monday, if there is nothing in your pantry, it can get you through from that Friday afternoon until you come back to school on Monday. And this I couldn't think about our food pack right now without thinking of one small little boy who has been asking his teacher, "Is it time for the food pack to start?" Because I take that bag home with me. And I know that little bag, I hide it away up in

061my room. It is what I eat all weekend until I come back to school on Monday. And I know the teachers are feeling it, too. And I'm really excited cuz the food pack starts next week because we see it in our teachers faces how much easier it is to have a child in your classroom who is fed, who has something in their belly, who is ready to learn, because I cannot imagine absorbing algebra on an empty belly with two days of hunger. And I cannot imagine reciting Shakespeare on any given day well, uh, let alone when I'm starving. So, thank you again to our donors who make this possible, who are the ones dropping off the snacks, who are bringing us all these incredible valuable items that are going right from your pantries to our

062cupboards and to our kids backpacks to take home. But of course, hunger doesn't just happen on Fridays. We see emergency hunger situations every single day in the schools. And our counselors and school staff are the heroes here that are seeing our kids coming in starving or getting ready, dragging their feet at the end of the day, leaving hungry with nothing. and they know that there is nothing at for them when they leave and their next meal will be the next morning when they have breakfast. One thing we're able to do to combat that is have a tool for our staff members and to have an emergency solution, a food pantry at all of our high schools and soon to be every single middle school. Hopefully within the week, I need someone to build me a

063cupboard. We're almost there. Uh but there are just not enough hours in the day. Uh but we are almost there. And soon every school in middle and high will have these food pantries so that there is an emergency solution for our staff members and students when there is no other solution available. And I'm hopeful that this will be the way of the future and we can roll this out across all of our schools in the the near future. Well, if you can imagine not having money for food, um could you imagine making a choice between a loaf of bread and a you know a backpack? And for us, that's a pretty easy solution. Uh would which one would you pick? For me, it would be the bread every day. Uh, and I would go to

064school without the backpack so that I had something in my belly. But I love food, but that is neither here nor there, but I have a feeling most of us do. For some kids, though, this would look like going to school without all the tools you need to be successful. This year was an amazing year for us. A high water mark really. Um, over,00 backpacks given right back out to the kids in our schools so that they show up on the first day ready to learn. and our counselors have a solution when they see someone who isn't ready to have them have a backpack when they walk in the door and they can be just like everybody else. It's an amazing resource. Of course, on top of that, we have classroom and clinic support. We

065want all of our classrooms to have everything they could ever desire. I want every teacher to have every tool they could dream of. And I never want somebody to have to dig into their own pocket because they want some child to have markers. Every child should have what they need. And because we have an incredible generous, incredibly generous community, our kids do have just that. We have an in had an insane beginning of our beginning of our year. 141 school supply and clinic requests filled in the first month alone. That is one trip to a school is one of those. And one of those trips is not just, you know, a binder. You're talking cases of items. A lot of stuff, a ton of stuff all get donated to Right Futures. And all we do

066is leverage it with three folks and an incredible community that brings the stuff, helps us sort it, we work with everyone here to make it happen, and then we get it right back out to our classrooms. It's an incredible resource that we're able to disperse all of this, all of these amazing tools. And you can see some of these great photos here. These are actually from Frederick County Middle. Thank you, Lisa Booth, if you're out there for taking these photos and these amazing kids that are having the best time with all their new stuff. But of course, it's not just school supplies. Year round, we have basic need challenges constantly at Bright Futures. So, what does this look like for us? Um, hygiene, shoes, clothing, bedding, and so much more. You can see some of

067the stats from this just the start of this year. We are we are inundated. For me, when I look at those shoes on this picture here, I can think of one particular child. There is one child that came up to us in the end of last year um that we knew we was taking off his shoes every recess because he wanted to run and play tag with the other kids. His shoes were so small that he could hardly walk, but his parents had no way to financially contribute to get him another pair of shoes. But because of these shoes, which were actually donated, again, uh thank you Valley Health. Uh, these were all donated through a drive. We were able to get these shoes on that little boy. And it is amazing what a new

068pair of shoes can do for a little guy. It can change their whole little world. But this is all through donation that we are able to source these items, get it right back out to our schools and our kids. You know, we're changing their lives. It's crazy, but with something as simple as a pair of shoes. I want to thank you all again for making our work possible. This is I'm going to keep it short and sweet because I do value your time. But these kids, these are ones that are living right here in our community that could be just right around the corner. The kids you see waiting at the bus stop maybe without a coat on on a cold day. Sometimes it's a fashion choice, sometimes it's not. And for those of who

069make the choice and they want to wear a coat, but they don't have one, that is why we are here. We are here here to support these kids who are waking up and they are in darkness and they are struggling and our teachers who are looking around and they have no other resource and they have no one else to call. Thankfully, we are there to answer the phone. And for some of these kids who are waking up in darkness, it is through your support at the board level and our incredible community that we are able to turn on a light. Thank you all so much. >> Thank you. How' you like your uh sign? >> My sign is great. Thank you for your help. We've had a lot of requests and calls lately. >> Mr.

070Chairman, um thank you so very much for your presentation and thank you for the good work that you're doing on behalf of our students and staff um here in Frederick County. Um so how many cupboards do you need? >> Oh gosh. I mean I've got one for all the high schools, one for all the middle schools. >> So you need one for all the elementary schools. >> There you go. Okay. >> All right. Um >> they're kind of specific. Each one is kind of custom to suit a need, to suit a space, to meet our requirements, but lately I'm looking at something that's kind of lockerlike that can be secured and to and is u excuse me, you know, closes stuff in nicely, but it is very customizable to every school in the space. So,

071we have to we really work with each school to make sure it works for them. >> Okay, that's great. Um, so I think I can help you with that. So, if you can give me some dimensions and tell me where it's going to go, um, I'd be happy to try and help and lend a hand. >> I'll be calling you tomorrow. >> Sounds good. >> Awesome. >> So, to that point, to Mr. Bell's point, um, are you using contractors to put these in or is it just your own staff or contractors? >> Well, volunteer contractors. I'm just wondering if there's any volunteer like builders around town that's willing to do that other than other than the sweat equity. Mr. Bell has volunteered, but uh, really it's it's staff. It's uh, we have volunteers at the

072community. We have I mean SRO's built a bunch of them for us. I mean we have people out of the goodness of their heart finding a little extra time. I mean beg borrowing and stealing and then you know we're getting it done but one at a time it's very doable. So we're getting it done >> cuz this may be a really great opportunity for those companies to come in and help with that. I don't know. >> I am all ears if we could get like >> parters. Yeah. Community partners. Is there any kind of red tape that they would need to go through as far as getting into the schools? >> No. No. I mean, Elise does a really good job about getting out to the community and and we try to connect her to

073those right people, but yeah, I mean, if there's other people out there that are willing to donate, Elise will not turn them away. >> I'm sure there's a lot of businesses that could be more than happy to help with that for marketing reasons, for right all the things. All the things that would benefit them would benefit you. >> Yes. Yes. Yes. 100 times. Yes, for sure. >> M and go >> ahead. No, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Mr. >> Do you find yourself needing Do you need materials? Do you need money? Do you need I I mean I can't even build a birdhouse straight, but I'll write you a check. Like tell me what it tell me what Greenwood Mill Elementary needs and I'll we'll sponsor the one for them. >> I everything all at once.

074Um so we not only do we need cupboards, we need physical items donated to go into these cupboards. We need I mean and then we need dollars because when we don't have something that's been donated, we need to have the flexibility to go out and get it. I mean it's not always a it's not always a food item. Sometimes that's me today getting a special pair of shoes for a child with a disability that needed a special pair of shoes so that they could still attend their gym class. I mean, so it is sometimes a financial donation that gives us the flexibility to immediately respond and, you know, level the playing playing field for somebody. But other times it's literally just a box of Cheezits and those you would not believe the amount of Cheezits

075and, you know, granola bars and Pop-Tarts that we go through because there is no other way to get them besides donations. So, we just rely so heavily on our community for those. When you find a good deal, give me a call. When you have something and you stop by a store, just bring it on in. We'd love it. We'd love to take it. Um, always need snack foods, always need donated items, but yes, if there's something specific, maybe not the crooked bird house, but like I would love to talk to you. >> You don't want me building a cabinet. In all seriousness, like Mr. Bell said, um, get with me afterwards because my wife and I will happily sponsor one from Greenwood Mill. >> Would love that. That's where my daughter goes. >> Yep. >>

076Cool. Um, quick question. Um, what about snow days? I I know kids, how how do you guys get food to those kids? Like >> snow days break my heart because there are so many children that rely so heavily on their school meals. That is where they get all of their food. For hundreds of our kids, they only eat at school and through food that is provided through school. It breaks my heart when we have a snow day because that forces us to have tough decisions um that we have to really talk and figure out logistics. We can usually rebound and make the food pack happen with one snow day, but if it's on the day that all the food is delivered, if it's on the day that you know food is supposed to be given

077out on a Friday, I mean, it breaks our heart every single time cuz I know there are kids who are going hungry on those snow days. And it's it's not just the food pack. It is the hot meal that there may not they might not have any other resource to to receive. >> Yeah. It it almost be nice if if there was some sort of phone tree um with some of us that's got four-wheel drive vehicles if we could deliver people. >> I would I would love that. But half the time I swear they fall on the packing days where stuff is assembled and like there's so many other logistics. There's I could talk to you for hours about how this all works. But we really to make it possible our food pack our food

078pack alone it takes 4 days of the week and from I mean we're talking 1500 kids the compilation the sourcing the unpacking the you know organization of all the volunteers the reloading come out to bright futures I would love to show you how this works I love logistics but 3 to 4 days at the absolute barest of minimal is how long it takes to turn around 1 1500 kids worth of food for delivery >> I bet >> and it is a hustle and we'd love to show it to you. Come on in. >> Um well Mr. Belle, uh, to your point, uh, of, uh, volunteering to build the, uh, shelves. Um, I'd be happy to donate lumber, you know. >> That's great. >> Yeah. You shouldn't have to put all on your shoulders. Um, so

079just get with me. Let me know what you need. >> We'll do work some overtime. >> So, >> yeah. Yeah. >> I see a field trip happening here. Let's do it. >> I'm in. >> Um, Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry, one more question. Have you ever have you been considering fridges which are the free refrigerators to have in the schools as well? >> That's a great question. So right now we don't have like a gigantic fridge or anything to accept refrigerated items at Bright Futures and it is a whole different level of regulations to meet those. >> Oh yeah. It's not a small decision to make. Um we have some some small fridges that we were able to accept small stuff on a you know like a reasonable basis but when you get into big time

080refrigeration that is a different matter altogether. you're involving like, you know, refrigerated trucks, health department, it becomes more and more complicated. When we stick to mostly dry and non-p perishable, we're able to avoid a lot of that. But then also, I love children and I know that my six-year-old would take a gallon of milk and she would drop it in her backpack and it would never make it home. Um, so we generally try to stick to very sturdy items, relatively childproof, relatively durable. So, like, you know, we're talking the best things to take home are things like the jars of peanut butter, cans of tuna, relatively indestructible. The Chef Boyer's that are in a can. I love those. Every day I'll send those home. Something that a child can take in a backpack and if

081they drop it, we do not get a phone call from mom saying a glass is shattered or, you know, there's eggs in her backpack. >> My favorite were the roller coasters, Chef Boyardi. They were so good. >> Well, it's one of our most popular items. >> Ninja Turtles. >> Yeah. Can never get enough. We have one little girl that I know we support um heavily. She goes home every single night and her mom works nights and she feeds herself dinner every single night. And we source a lot of Chef Yard and other pop top easy refrigerated or not refrigerated um shelf stable items that are not refrigerated that she can take home with her. We don't have to worry about it trying to stay cold on the bus for her. And like that time that

082it sits in her backpack, we want to make sure it's safe for her to eat and she takes it home and that's what she eats most nights because there's no one else to feed her. And so this it's that shelf stable stuff that's really a game changer for us and gives us that flexibility to make sure the kids are not they're not sitting on you know a gallon of milk in their backpack for seven eight hours unrefrigerated. >> Of course, >> but it is something to think about. I wonder if maybe there is something there. Maybe we can figure that out. >> I think Yeah, it's just a problem solving thing. >> I love a problem. >> Yep. >> Do you ever send home dried milk? >> You know, we have we've had it donated

083before. Um we don't get it a whole lot. It's not a super popular item, but we have we do actually have some. We give it out in especially crisis situations. Um we had a a um house fire for a Frederick County student last week and that was actually in their bag. Some things we sent home with them. >> Milk's important. >> So, not to beat the uh drum all day and dragged this out, but having stood there and had a lease behind me while I was stuffing bags for food packs, it it's an amazing operation. I really strongly suggest if you have time to go out and see it and to volunteer and I know quite a few staff from here. I I helped with the summer food distribution. I mean it is like a

084military operation but if you go there and let her give give you the tour you will he I mean I knew there was issues in the county but I didn't know how vast of a problem it was until hanging out in Bright Futures and I'm telling you if you can do anything for them then I strongly suggest that you do it because she does an awesome job and it's something that we really need and something that uh I think the community can value. So, >> thank you very much for those kind words. If you want to take action right now, visit our website or just type into the Google machine bright futures Frederick Winchester. You'll pull us up and there are drives, drive templates you can print off right now if you want to get

085together. I mean, we have food we constantly are needing. And when the holidays are just around the corner starting in I think about a week, it all kicks off again. And so, you could sponsor a student and um make their holiday a little brighter, too. So, there's a lot of ways you can jump on stuff right now or give me a call and I'd love to give your group a tour or arrange a little field trip. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Elise. >> All right. >> Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. This presentation isformational only and no actions are recommended at this time, but donations are always welcome >> and building. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you again. All right. There is uh no unfinished business, so we're going to move

086right on into new business. Um, first we have the student conduct support student conduct and support committee report. It's a short one, I promise. The student conduct and support committee had a meeting on August the 20th, 2025. Meeting was called to order at 5:06 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member. During the meeting, the committee went into close session to review and discuss individual student matters that would involve specific students and particular information contained in their scholastic records, including disciplinary matters pursuant to Virginia Code section 2.2-3711A.2. After reconvening and certifying the closed session, the committee voted to uphold the hearing officer's recommendation on a 2 to vote. the meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m. Additional details regarding the information covered at the meeting are included in the minutes provided

087to the board members and the only motion I have is um I move that the board approve the minutes from the student conduct and support committee meeting held August 20, 2025. >> Motion has been made and seconded. Is there any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Next is the finance committee report. Miss uh Madame Vice Chair, please. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. A meeting of the finance committee of the Frederick County School Board was held on September 3rd, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member. During the meeting, Mrs. Anderson shared the fiscal year 2026 budget document and reviewed the full-time equivalent clerk of the works positions. Mrs. Chapman

088discussed the financial audits to include the student fund and shared and the shared and shared the fiscal year 2025 athletic financial report highlights. Mrs. Anderson reviewed the fiscal year 2025 school board funds financial statements and Mrs. Smith discussed the health insurance reserve fund as well as the consolidated services fund. Mrs. Reid reviewed the private purpose fund and the INREP operating and textbook funds. Mrs. Smith then discussed the school debt service fund and the school construction fund. Mrs. Cybert shared the school capital projects fund and the special grants fund and the textbook fund. And Mrs. Sanderson review the remaining obligated funds and discussed the fiscal year 2025 remaining unobligated funds, the bus fleet assets, the bus lifespan and replacement cycle and the capital asset plans unfunded projects. She also reviewed the Bass Hoover Elementary School HVAC

089replacement request and the Dal J Howard Center HVAC replacement request together with Mr. Davis. The meeting adjourned at 5:45 p.m. Additional details regarding the information covered in the finance committee meeting are included in the minutes provided to board members. It was a big meeting. Are there any questions from board members about information shared at the finance committee meeting on September 3rd, 2025? >> Um, Madam Chair, >> yes. >> Um, I I would just like to say thank you to Miss Anderson and her team. Um, knocked it out of the park again. Saw the awards coming up today. Um, yeah, it's not an easy undertaking. So, you know, we promised, I think each and every one of us to be transparent on this board and um and and drive that down with the staff and it's

090it doesn't take a lot with with this staff. They're pretty open and honest about everything. So, you know, it it it was refreshing to see once again, you know, um we come out unscathed. >> Cheers. Yeah. >> Thanks, Mr. Atkins. Anyone else? All right. Well, we have four motions out of that meeting, so bear with me. They're a little lengthy. The first motion, I move the board approve the request for two additional clerk of the works full-time equivalent positions to support the Middletown and Jordan Springs elementary expansion construction projects. >> Second. >> Motion has been made, properly seconded. Any discussion? >> All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Number two, I move the board approve and request the request for a budget adjustment to the school operating

091fund for $273,69.50, which represents the obligated funds received during fiscal year 2025 and requested to carry forward into fiscal year 2026. >> Second. Motion has been made, properly seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. I move the board approve the request for a budget adjustment to the capital projects fund in the amount of 2,815,185 which represents the fiscal year 2025 remaining unobligated funds from the school operating fund to be used to purchase four replacement school buses and replace HVAC units at Bass Hoover Elementary School and LJ Howard Learning Center. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and properly seconded. Is there any discussion, >> Mr. Chairman? Sir, just want to very briefly say about this. If you didn't get a chance um for those of

092you watching at home, please go back and watch uh the really really helpful discussion that happened um at this finance committee meeting um especially the section in which we talked about buses um and some of the ages of the there were buses still in operation today in those what was it >> hundreds and hundreds of miles driven just today um that were in service when I was in middle school. So, they're getting a little long in the tooth. Um, and I especially appreciate Dr. Hummer and his staff um finding ways um to come up with the funds that we need to get rid of some of what Vice Chair Kleinus called our Mad Max buses. >> Yes. >> Um and I'm very appreciative to see that we're going to do right by our drivers and

093kids. >> They are. Seriously, some of them are awful. >> Awful. >> Junk parts that won't match and like >> Yes. >> Any further discussion? Hearing none. And all those in favor signify by saying I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> And finally, I move the board approve the minutes from the finance committee meeting held on September 3rd, 2025. >> Second. Motion has been made, properly seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Next, we have the personnel committee report. >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A meeting of the Personnel Committee of the Frederick County School Board was held on September 8, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 4:31 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board

094member. During the meeting, Miss Campbell gave a staffing update which included professional vacancies FY26, teacher vacancies by content FY26, teacher vacancies by content FY25 versus FY26, support staff vacancies FY26, support staff vacancies FY25 versus FY26. She also discussed professional vacancies filled as of 8:28 2025 and the years of experience of new teachers. Ms. Rinker gave a substitute update and shared the recruitment and retention update which included celebrations of recruitment efforts and recruiting plans. Ms. Edwards Johnson discussed the FCPS employee services update to include the FCPS employee benefit highlight employee perks and Ms. Campbell and Dr. Hummer reviewed the human capital management system update. The meeting adjourned at 4:49 p.m. Additional details regarding the information covered at the committee meeting are included in the minutes provided to school board members. Are there any questions from board

095members about information shared at the personnel committee meeting held on on September 8th? All right. Hearing none, we'll go to the motions page. And according to this, I have to move the board approve the minutes from the personnel committee meeting held on September 8, 2025. >> Second. >> Motion has been made, properly seconded. Is there any discussion hearing? None. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Next is the instruction committee report. You get to hear from me again. So the instruction committee met. A meeting of the instruction committee uh of the Frederick County School Board was held on September 8, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 5:34 p.m. and a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member. During the meeting, Dr. Hummer

096shared a big thank you to the instruction team for their hard work on the presentations and reviewed the agenda. Miss Swagger discussed the summer school report. Dr. Hummer shared comments regarding the proposed so cut scores and Miss Nicola reviewed the proposed so cut scores. Miss Knight shared the annual initiatives overview for effective schools framework ESF. Ms. Mald Downey and Dr. Meyers gave an update on the annual initiatives overview for planning structures. PLC's and Mr. Strong reviewed the annual initiatives overview for bullying and vaping prevention and education implementation plans. Dr. Reeves and Mrs. Kaufman discussed the annual initiatives overview for special education programming for FCPS and Miss Jordan reviewed amendments to policy 437P. The meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. Additional details regarding the information covered at the committee are included in the minutes provided to the

097board. Are there any questions from board members about information shared at the instruction committee meeting held on September the 8th? hearing none. We do have two motions coming out of that particular meeting. Uh look, let's see. First, I move the board approve the proposed amendments to policy 437P, administration of medications to students. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and properly seconded. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> And the final motion is that I move the board approve the minutes from the instruction committee meeting held on September 8th, 2025. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and properly seconded. Is there any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries.

098And next is the buildings and grounds committee report. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. A meeting of the building and grounds committee of the Frederick County Public Schools was held on September 22nd, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 4:33 p.m. And a copy of the minutes has been provided to each board member. During the m excuse me, during the meeting, uh, Mr. Whitaker discussed the cap the cap projects update. Uh, Mr. Sheepard gave an update on the fourth high school and flooring considerations. viewed the elementary expansion and shared or ele elementary expansions and shared uh updates on the Sharando High School master plan and a tentative timeline. He also discussed the CIP projects, uh, the redistricting redistricting process with a tendive timeline, the Jameswood High School baseball school board signage, as well as the

099Jameswood High School booster pump. Um, Mr. Holland gave a transportation update. Staff from Rapahhanic Electric Cooperative reviewed uh the Milbrook High School uh and Redbud run easement for Rapahanic Electric Cooperative and Mr. Thompson discussed the Omnitrax lease. Uh the meeting adjourned at 5:33 p.m. Additional details regarding the committee uh meeting are included in the minutes provided to each board member. Uh, do uh board members have any questions about what was covered at the building and grounds committee meeting held on September 22nd? All righty. Got a couple action items. Got to flip two. All right. First one, um, Raphanic Electric Cooperative Easement. I move that the board approve the proposed rightaway uh, easement agreement with Rapahanic Electric Cooperative and authorize the chair to execute all necessary documents that are approved by legal counsel. >> Second. >>

100Motion has been made and properly seconded. Is there any discussion? I will uh add uh add to this. There was a small They called it a donutsized spot that somehow was missed. So that's why we're going through this. >> All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Any opposed? >> That motion carries. >> All right. Next up is the Omnitras. I move that the board approve the proposed third addendum to the terminal lease agreement with Winchester and Western Railroad Company and authorize the chair to execute all necessary documents that are approved by legal counsel. Second. >> Motion has been made and properly seconded. Madam vice chair, you got a comment? Okay. >> Any other anyone else? Nope. Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Any opposed? That motion

101carries. >> Lastly, I move that the board approve the minutes from the building and grounds committee meeting held on se September 22nd, 2025. >> Second. >> Motion has been made. Properly seconded. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. >> Next on our list, we have the appointment of the superintendent VDOE designate. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. So, a little backstory on this information. Every year, you have to authorize individuals to sign in mystead if I'm not available. And those two individuals are my assistant superintendent. Usually approve this in January. Since Mr. Thompson came on board, we have to go ahead and approve that now. Uh, and then you will then reauthorize it again in January. So that's why this is before you today.

102>> Do we need to read that or >> we need to make a motion? >> Yeah, the motion is there in front of you. I was just giving you some backstory. Yes, sir. >> All right. All right, Mr. Chair. >> I move that the board approve and authorize Mr. Ben Thompson, assistant superintendent of administration, and Miss uh Shante Knight, assistant superintendent of instruction to sign the VDOE reports, documents, requisitions, and other official correspondence in the superintendent's absence. Motion has been made for appointment. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Hearing none, all those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Next, we have approval of the Advancing Computer Science Education ACSE grant. >> So, there's a motion before you. I'll be able to answer any questions about that.

103It's for $75,000 looking at my team. Um, George Mason is the fiscal agent, but they're requiring our signature to use those funds to support our computer science program. >> Mr. Chairman, >> Mr. Bill, >> I move the board approve the Advancing Computer Science Education ACSE grant. Second. >> Motion has been made, properly seconded. Is there any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? That motion carries. Next is the presentation uh of the superintendent for his legislative priorities. >> All right. So, Mr. Chair, I I know I'm excited. I've talked to each of you. who I know you continue to be excited about this new yearly tradition of meeting with our two delegates and state senator to talk about some legislative priorities we would like for them

104to take to the general assembly. So, we've put together a list of items that we are recommending that we propose to present to the two delegates and senator and I want to present these to you this evening to see if you're good with these and then I'm asking for you to vote or to make adjustments as you know you're a you're able to do. Um, a reminder that this summit has been scheduled for October 16th from 6:00 to 7:30ish based on the questions that might come up at Admiral Bird. All of the two delegates and the senators have confirmed that they will be there for this event. And as I mentioned, we're asking you to approve these legislative priorities or make adjustments as you see fit. As we've talked about in the past, this is

105always just a great opportunity for us to have conversations not only with our delegate and senator, but also with our community about the things that we're passionate about that we would like to see changed at the state level. I do want to share with you all the and the public that because we presented a change to the the cap, which was additional dollars we received, we did get an additional $3.5 million. So this legislative summit can be successful if we are able to outline it accordingly and if they agree with some of the changes that we would like to see done at that state level. So of course these are essentially your legislative priorities we are recommending. So if you have any adjustments or changes that you would like for us to make, please make

106sure you let us know now so we can get ahead of that. So all of the items on here as I mentioned we were able to adjust that state cap. So of course we took that off of the list. So everything is going to be the same because all these other ones were not changed. But we did adjust some of the recommendations in regards to each of these areas. But we do have a new one and we have Mrs. Campbell working with Mrs. Jordan in regards to what this looks like in regards to code. But we do have some staffing lensure issues that we would like for the state to address at this general assembly level which I'll dive in here for a second. Uh, but we are going to bring up again the cocoa

107line and and taking a look at a hopefully a new formula at the state level so we can receive additional funding so that we can continue to add on all the resources we need to keep the school division moving forward efficiently. Also taking a look at increasing our post-secondary opportunities for our students, looking at that building and maintenance for our schools and then of course looking at the safety of our schools through safety um supports as well as our school resource officers. So just as a quick reminder, there is this imaginary line that separates Northern Virginia from the rest of Virginia. We do receive some of this what's called cost of competing adjustment money, but if you go down to that third column or row there, we get about 1.8 compared to Lowden's 22 million.

108Now last year that was $18 million. So that number has gone up and that is less money that we do not receive. And I think for us and as we know last year when we had this conversation with them that there would be essentially a domino effect of all the other divisions asking for the same thing. But I want to continue for us to utilize. We are the most northern county in Virginia. So why they would not include us in this KOKA calculation and adjustment uh is something that we have a lot of issues with as I know you guys do as well >> and the fastest growing in Virginia. And can you imagine what $22 million could do for our school division? Um, and we would not no longer have any issues with staff

109competing with with Lowden County as well as all these other divisions that are in in Virginia. Next up is as I mentioned, Mrs. Campbell is working very hard at at identifying some areas that we need some support in in regards to staffing and lensures. The first two is to support us to help with the retention recruitment of our teachers. The third one is an interesting one and and if you have any additional questions, Mrs. Campbell can answer them. But the the state has a process what's called a provisional license and and we appreciate all of our staff that are on a provisional license. However, we do have some staff that like to take advantage of that time and after that third year they will be on continuing contract which makes it very difficult because if

110they get those additional two years to complete that lensure and they're under par, they're already on that continuing contract track. Um, and again, we definitely want to support all of our staff, but if we're giving them extensive time, we just want to make sure that it is indicated as such and not putting them on that continuing track process, if that makes sense. So, that's something that we've noticed that we've had some issues with in the past with some staff that have been performing below par and taking their time getting their lensure done. Again, this isn't to attack our staff. This isn't to make our staff look bad. It's we have high standards for our staff. We want to have good staff in our classrooms and we want to help support our staff to get their

111lensure but we do not want to be stuck with an individual who will be below par and we've had had some issues where we've been stuck. So we just want to make that recommendation uh at the state level. Please stop me if you guys have any questions please. Um as always we are trying to increase the CTE pathways and opportunities for our students and that looks like a bunch of different ways in regards to adding on some additional staff. We're looking at potentially adding on some work-based learning coordinators at the school level. We do have some staff here that help with making those connections to the community, but as we know, there's a lot of folks in this community that want to be part of this process of adding pathways and opportunities for our students.

112And we are asking for some additional funds from the state to add on these additional staff that we need. And I want to make sure we emphasize with this that the state just came out with a new framework of three E which is post-graduation. Again, another unfunded mandate. So, if they're going to be making these mandates, which we agree with, adding pathways and opportunities for kids is a big deal. But please help us with money so that we can continue to support these things coming down from the state because we will be graded on that to determine if we are distinguished on track, off track or in needs of intensive support. So we are just asking for those additional dollars to help keep us on the right track. And as I mentioned to you earlier

113and as we already see we're adding on some really really great programs for our kids and we want to be able to continue to do that. and we were able to use that the state money in order to build our data sciences as well as our academic program for our students. Again, we deal with this every year in regards to maintaining our schools. We've made a lot of progress thanks to our board of supervisors and to you for for supporting this, but there there needs to be some additional support at the state level in regards to how we're receiving revenue streams to support our aging buildings, our aging infrastructure. Our buildings are run every single day as we know and we are required by law to educate our students. So there needs to be some

114sort of funding streams to help us and not just come from the locality. These are conversations that I have with a lot of other neighboring divisions as well and hopefully we'll start to see some changes at the state level to help us maintain our buildings. Last but not least, as you know, safety is very, very important to me, and I want to make sure that we're able to continue to add on the layers of structures and supports in each of our buildings from we we had ballistic last uh presentations. We're looking at making sure all of our doors and our locks are are up to par. We're also taking a look at the staff that's in our buildings. So, we just want to make sure that if there is a way for the state, again,

115who emphasize the need for these safety supports, if there's a way for them to add on these additional revenue streams, grants, what have you, so we can continue to add the safety the safety structures that all of our students and staff and community deserve. So, as I mentioned, those are each of I'm sorry, those are each of the legislative priorities as as presented. Um, I'm open up, of course, for any questions. And we have two motions before you, either adopting as is or making adjustments or changes so that my team and I can get those prepared and ready for October 16th. And Mr. Chair, it looks like Mrs. Martin has a question. >> Do I was wondering if it would be feasible to um I don't know what you call it. uh work up something

116for the people in Frederick County, especially those have children coming here to sign to have ready for the delegates when they come here to to to show that they understand what the Cocoa is. Cocoa >> Cocoa line. Yes, ma'am. is and that they feel that that we definitely should have more of the funding. In other words, that they see that the citizens are truly behind this, it might put a little bit more emphasis on our need. >> Sure. Sure. Absolutely. Um, you know, based on on conversations that I've had with a lot of individuals in this community, >> if they if they actually can sign something and they can do it online, put their name. Um, yeah. >> You know what I'm saying? >> I I do I don't I think that would kind of

117cross over into campaigning, which we can't do. Um, >> really? >> Yeah. Yeah. So, I don't think that's something that we would be permitted to do. I mean, I like what you're saying, M. Martin, about engaging in the community, which I do and which you all do as well. Um, I I would say we could do that, but not engaging in signatures. Anytime you're telling somebody to endorse something, it kind of blurs the lines in regards to campaigning. But I'm more than happy to continue these conversations as I've been doing in town halls. And if the community tells me they don't support the schools and the things we do, then I'll bring that to you and that's different conversations for them to listen to. But >> um I think we we would be kind of

118crossing a line there. And Mr. Chair, I don't want to overstep there. But yeah, >> because I might put some pressure on them. >> Yeah. >> You know what I'm saying? >> I do. I do. I think we could do that with these meetings and they they from the conversations I've had with them, Mr. chair, if I may, they they support what we're doing and the direction we're going in and that's why they want to engage in these conversations as well. >> Oh, thank you, Mrs. Martin. >> So, >> is there So, yes. So, there is um a motion before you to either adopt as presented or adopt with additions, adjustments, or removals. >> Mr. Chair, I move that we adopt the legislative priorities as presented. >> Second. >> Motion has been made, properly seconded.

119Is there any discussion? hearing none. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. >> Any oppose. >> All right. >> Thank you all very much. >> Next up is board member comments. Is there any comments from the board? >> Uh Mr. Chair, I just have a couple of things. Uh very short. Uh first I'd like to thank everyone who came tonight to uh watch and listen and be a part of our decisions and also to congratulate and recongratulate those who uh deservedly received awards this evening and welcome those who have been appointed uh to our school. Um the second thing I'd like to talk about are the vapes. Um this is something that is a pervasive problem in our schools. Uh spec specifically our high schools. Um and you know it's an issue

120that doesn't just face our school. It also faces the county in general. And I'm very optimistic that now especially we'll be able to meet with the board of supervisors as well as the Frederick County Sheriff's Department to have discussions about what we can do as working together and fixing this issue as opposed to just making it a school problem. Um third, uh I want to reemphasize what Dr. Hummer mentioned to you all about the cut scores uh with the so basically uh what that translates to is that currently a 400 is passing. However, if this or I should say when these cut scores uh are adjusted, meaning they're passed by the uh general assembly, these cut scores will increase to somewhere in the neighborhood of 430. Now, at 30 points doesn't sound like a great

121deal, but it is a great deal when you're talking about how many questions it is, the type of learning it is, but most importantly, it's how the test itself is scored. What weight does each question get? There's a lot of ifs, ands, and buts that are still left unanswered by uh the general assembly and by the state school board. Um the lack of information, unfortunately, has not made this any easier on any of the school districts in our state. This is a statewide issue, not just a Frederick County issue. It affects every single school student in our uh state. So, I hope that soon we're able to get additional information and perhaps maybe make it a gradual increase versus a straight increase. Um, number four, I want to thank uh Mr. Certivan, Mr. Nory for

122the moments of silence. I think violence on anyone regardless of whom they are is absolutely horrendous. I It doesn't matter if you agree with their politics. It doesn't matter if you like them or don't like them. No one ever deserves to be uh in a situation like Charlie Kirk, the students in Minnesota, uh the uh representative from Minnesota, police officers and the like. So, thank you for that moment of silence and I hope that at some point we can come together and not make this a Republican or Democratic issue, but make this a people issue. Um, and then finally, uh, bright futures. I think, uh, what the presentation showed us tonight is that it speaks for itself. The good that they're doing in our community, the food that they're providing, uh, the the resources that

123they're providing. I encourage everyone to spend as much time um, as they can uh, afford to support Bright Futures, whether it be with a monetary donation um, or your actual time. the time that you can spend there I think probably means a lot more than the money although of course everything costs money. So with that um I want to thank you all again and thank you Mr. Chairman >> Mr. Chairman. Uh so a few things a few um things in response to to Mr. Nur's comments about vapes and this is not a criticism Brian this is truly not but I want to share a couple things you wouldn't know um unless you've been in schools and and you're working in schools. I want to tell you the worst nightmare of any staff member working a

124school, especially an administrator, when you feel like you're responsible for a kid's safety, is um when I showed up to a restroom um and had to go into a high school girl's restroom um and find a girl curled up behind a toilet against a wall because she had overdosed because what she thought was just a normal vape pin that was watermelon or tutti frutti had fentinel in it. Um, I think what people don't understand is that this is a pervasive um, and not well enough talked about problem, especially at Milbrook High School. Kids are going to school as uh, healthy kids and they're coming home addicted. That's not acceptable. I also think that Mr. Strong deserves a lot of credit. He and I were talking after the the last committee meeting um, and he was

125sharing with me how much more stringent some of our consequences have gotten. And so I want to correct one um error in what you said. We we have reporting requirements between law enforcement and the schools and there are a certain number of infractions especially distribution um that not only are against the law but they go against our student code of conduct. We have to get more strict. What we find time after time is that if we're working in partnership with law enforcement, these behaviors do decrease. But if all we're doing is addressing addiction after the fact, that's like going on a diet after you've gotten fat on purpose, right? Like that that is not how change happens. If we want kids to not um be using these devices, what they do outside of school is

126up to their parents and their guardians and our communities. But I almost just said a bad word. they sure as heck better not be doing it in the schools because it doesn't just affect the child who is vaping and the child who is being exposed to a potential overdose. It affects the kids who can't even go to the bathroom because they have to hold their breath to get through the the vape fog. That's not okay. It doesn't just This is not like it was when we were in school and somebody would light up a cigarette because they were the rebel. They'd light up a cigarette in the bathroom, get caught, and everybody go home. This is completely different. These detectors, these Halo and Fly Sense detectors are incredibly sophisticated pieces of equipment that can be

127calibrated correctly. I I chase them for a full-time job. Um, and it's awful and it's not a lot of fun, but it will drastically change behavior. It's hard at first. People don't like it at first, but when you put your foot down and say we're not going to allow drugs in our schools, hard stop. >> Um, that doesn't hurt anyone. So, I just wanted to speak to that for a second. Um, the other piece of the the cut scores I um I was very careful about my sports analogy last time and so I'm going to um get daring again and say what this feels like, especially as somebody who supports these cut scores going up, which I do because I want to see those standards go up and I want to see us raise the

128bar. This is like a Lucy and Charlie Brown thing, right? We've told the kids the football's in one place. They're running towards that football full speed and Lucy's about to move the ball. we cannot do this in the middle of a of a school year. So, I think that there's probably a lot to be said for those of us, especially on the educator side, who are in favor of raising standards, um but but maybe not um doing it in the middle of the school year when the kids and teachers are already working toward their goal. Um PS, the public can go out and make comment if you go to the state's website. Um that particular policy is still open for public comment and I highly encourage you to take advantage of that. And that's it.

129>> Mr. Chair, >> Mr. Atkins, >> um I do want to touch on the vapes and the uh so scoring with the cut scores. Um cut scores, my two cents on it. Um yeah, I I disagree with the way it's it's being executed. Um great Charlie Brown analogy. Um the goalpost has moved. Um, that being said though, a a passing score is considered proficient. A D is also considered proficient and you pass, right? Um, I do think we do need to up our game and have higher standards for our students. Um, I know that that is going to come at a cost of with the way we're going to have to educate our students, but we should always be striving for excellence and never settle for second best. Um, as far as the vapes, um,

130you hit the nail on the head, Mr. Nur, it is technically illegal. It is illegal then. So, why would we allow drugs in the school? I don't think that advocating for drugs of any kind in the school is uh is a very good idea or very civically minded. So, um I in full support of what Miss Klein said. Um anything we can do to get these vapes out of the school, whether it be technology that was presented or any kind of policies or disciplinary actions that we can take, I'm all about it. Um so, that's about all I've got. Um, I do want to wish the uh the new arrivals to our staff um uh you know a a great time uh while they're here. Um hopefully they stick around for until they retire. Um

131and then uh also congratulate our students. not only once again our FFA students um just crushing it like they always do and and coming up mopping up all the awards and then um you know we we've we had um uh staff get awards. We had a student uh get get recognized tonight for being in the top 1% in the nation. I mean it's that's one probably 1% of 1% in the nation. >> That's a big deal. >> Um it's it's it's amazing. It's a credit to all of our staff out there, his parents for, you know, investing the time in him. So, it it is a um it's a community effort, you know, between the staff and and uh the parents out there. So, I appreciate everything that our staff is doing out there uh

132to educate our children. It doesn't go unrecognized. And with that, I will relinquish my time. >> I'd like to update uh Mr. chairman that James Wood won in three sets in volleyball tonight. >> Interesting. >> That's all. >> Congratulations to the teachers and >> we look forward to having you. >> Mr. Chair, just one quick thing that I wanted to I wanted to provide some clarity to one of the legislative priorities because Dr. Hummer and I went back and forth on a lot of these making sure we had these hammered out and had the spirit of the board reflected in these priorities. Uh the five-year probationary status for teachers. This is a whole new frontier for me as a board member, learning all of the credentiing and everything, all the hoops our teachers have to

133go through to get all the accreditations and everything they need to teach. There are several teachers in our district this year who are coming back from leave of absences or from time out of the other time uh commitments outside of the of the uh outside of the classroom and they're coming back to the schools. It was my understanding, according to one teacher that I was speaking to, that she was giving given a one-year ultimatum to get all of her continuing education done in a year, plus teach full-time. That indeed is not the case. So, if you are one of those teachers that may fall in one of these one of these somewhat probationary periods, please reach out to central office. Reach out to us. Reach out to central office first. I'm sure you'll get traction.

134I'm sure you'll get the supports you need, but we want to keep you. We want to retain you. We don't want you to go back into the workforce again when we have 49 positions open. I believe is what it is right now this week. So we still have 49 positions open. We started the year out with 75 positions open. Our HR team is doing an amazing job keeping those position getting folks hired for those positions, but there's still work to be done. So we want to retain those as many as much as we can. So if you're a probationary teacher and you're trying to get through those credentiings, let us know. Let the central office know. You'll get the support that you need. So that's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair. >> Anyone else?

135Um, I would like to thank all those who have reached out to me this past month, uh, by phone, in person, and given us their support. It means a lot. Means more than you'll ever know. Um, again, I want to praise the volleyball team from James Wood. Not because I think they're better than everybody else, which they are pretty darn good, but >> but they got no are better than everybody else. >> All right. Well, I'm I'm I'm I'm I've got all these schools that I'm responsible for, but they are a decent bunch of kids. All the kids that I'm meeting, and I've been in a lot of schools and and been to a lot of functions. Some of the the teachers are now starting to say, uh, we can't seem to get rid of

136you because you're always here. So, I I'm I'm seeing a lot of great things in our school system, I'm telling you. Um, I even worked prek, which I don't know that I'll ever do again, but I did it. So, I'm seeing a lot of good things in the school system. Um, and thank you to the Sherando High School cheerleaders for allowing me to have some pompoms and start cheering on the sideline. I look like an idiot, but I did it anyway. So, thank you. >> Can we get a picture of that? >> I got it. I >> I do. He He has the pictures. >> It is incriminating evidence. So, um, >> the wall, >> but we have a great school system and, uh, yes, do we have some issues? Do we have some problems

137from time to time? We certainly do, just like every other organization. But the people that I'm seeing on a daily basis and the and the the faculty I'm talking to, all the staff do an outstanding job. And if you would hang around even this building here and see all the extracurricular stuff, looking around how these people have been here all day, they're they're still here. Um the things that the clerk does, I it it's an amazing amount of work that people don't see. And uh all the hard work that our librarians put in for us over the last few months, I'm telling you, we have a phenomenal staff. I know there are people out there saying that the staff is not being treated well and that the staff are afraid to make comments because of

138retaliation. I guarantee you I'm not seeing it cuz they have no problems talking to me and uh I I I don't think that's an accurate statement and I wish some people would stop saying that. We have a phenomenal staff and uh we have a phenomenal school system and a fantastic superintendent and a fantastic board and uh my hats off to all of them. And with that, the next announcement or the announcement for uh our next school board meeting is October 21, 2025. Do we have a motion? >> Mr. Chair, >> Mr. Bell, >> I would like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting. >> Second. >> Motion has been made and seconded. Any discussion? Oh, all those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? We are adjourned.