School Board Meeting - May 14, 2026

001It is my pleasure. Oops. It will be my pleasure in a minute. It is my pleasure to call this meeting on May 14th um of the Alberar County School Board to order. Um before before we move forward with our um roll call or our introductions um I just wanted to mention one thing for people who are um used to kind of the way our meetings work. Traditionally we have a closed session at the beginning. So I would call call I would open us up. We would move into close session and then we would come back. We would make our announcement and then we would go forward with our meeting because today is a super busy and special day. So many of the board members and cabinet members started out, we were at um ACE Academy

002or Studio Link doing the capstone presentations. Um and then we had the honor of being at their um uh their graduation uh ceremony. And then now we are today we are celebrating all of the retirees. We didn't want to do that close session in the middle of all of those um pomp and circumstances. So the board chose we're doing it at the end. There's no reason we're doing it at the end except that uh there was no way to do it before the retirement ceremony. So, um just if anyone's listening is wondering why we're doing close session at the end, um it is a planned um to just uh preserve schedules and make sure we're honoring um the retirees um this afternoon. So, with no further ado, um we usually start our meetings um with

003each of us introducing ourselves. Um so, I am going to start with Jason Grant this morning. Jason Grant, chief communication officer. >> Daffany Kaiser, assistant superintendent for community engagement. Aaron Stone, assistant division council. Kate AOV, Jack Dwitt representative. >> Ellen Osborne, Scottville representative. >> Rebecca Berlin, Whiteall representative. >> Jim Dylan, Ohio representative. Uh, Bob Beard, Samuel Miller, representative. >> Roslin Schmidt, chief operating officer. >> Matthew Haw, superintendent. Josiah Black, chief legal officer. Patrick Mclofflin, assistant superintendent. >> Christine Thompson, clerk of the school board. >> And thank you to our officers who are here to protect us and protect us every day. We do have two school board members who are not able to attend tonight. Um, but we do have quorum, so there's no reason that we can't move forward with our meeting. We will

004begin with our pledge of allegiance. Please stand if you are able. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I now ask that we pause for a moment of silence. And because we have so many graduates as well as retirees um in the audience, uh I ask that you uh keep them um and their safety um and their joy in the coming months um in your mind as we have this moment of silence. Okay. Thank you so much. And as someone who has dedicated her career to early childhood education, I couldn't be happier for the coups that are here. So please uh whoever's child that is, please keep the coups coming. Do not

005think you have to step out. Um I may pick the child up if you need me to and do this meeting with um him or her or them on my on my lap um because I am honored that um they are here um in this meeting today. So before we move forward this evening, I want to take a moment to recognize the beginning of graduation s season for Alberar County Public Schools. Over the past couple of days, members of the board and division leadership have had the opportunity to already attend several celebrations honoring our students and their accomplishments. Yesterday evening, we celebrated with students at the K-tech Completer ceremony at the MLK Performing Arts Center at Charlottesville High School. It was a wonderful event and a strong reminder of the value of career and technical

006education. These students are leaving with skills, experience, and confidence that will serve them well in where whatever comes next. We also had the opportunity yesterday to attend Community Lab School's graduation at UVA's contemplative commons. That ceremony was thoughtful, personal, and very reflective of the of the spirit of community lab school. It was clear how much pride the students, the families, and the staff brought to that moment. Today, some members of the board and division leadership were able to attend the Elro Career Exploration Academy senior celebration at Sumol Place. This includes the Link Studio Capstone presentations. They were also recognized during the Link Studio senior completion ceremony. These celebrations highlight the many different ways our students learn, they grow, and they prepare for their next steps. In the days ahead, we look forward to celebrating graduates

007across the division. Elmer County High School will hold its graduation ceremony on Monday, May 18th at 6 PM at JPJ. Montichello High School will have its graduation ceremony at Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the same location. On Friday, Post High will celebrate its students at 1:00 at the Trail Head Learning Community. And then our final graduation is Western Elmer High School, which holds its ceremony on Friday, May 22nd at 8:00 PM, as I always say, at sunset on the Western Elmer High School tour field. To all of our graduates and completers, congratulations. We are so proud of your hard work, your persistence, and the many different path paths you are taking forward. Graduation is not just a ceremony. It is the result of years of efforts by students, their families, their teachers, their counselors, our

008school staff, administrators, and our community partners. On behalf of the school board, congratulations to the class of 2026. We are so honored to celebrate with you. Point 2.0 on our agenda is the approval of our agenda. Do I have a motion for the approval tonight's agenda? >> I move we adopt tonight's agenda. Moved by Dr. Akoff. Do I have a second? >> Second by Mr. Delabsec. All those in favor of tonight's agenda. >> I I. >> Any opposed? >> We will move forward with today's agenda. So, this is one of my favorite um meetings of the year. I mean, our budget meetings are fun, right? But this is probably um so much more fun. Um no, no offense Roslin and Maya. Um but tonight, we are going to do a few things. Um we are

009going to recognize our 25 26 student school board representatives and we are also going to recognize our 2026 retirees. Um so the the school board members are going to start. We each have um a letter of thank you and recognition for each of the students who have served us so well. Um before I begin I just wanted to say my personal thank you. Um this is such this these students to sit on this DS as an adult is difficult. I can't imagine how difficult it is for our students um to stay here to look out at you to look out at people who are sometimes friendly um to their beliefs and sometimes who are not friendly to their beliefs. Um but they did it with such poise and such energy um and such enthusiasm. I

010can't imagine um doing it without you. Um I learned personally so much um and many times when I was having a hard time in a meeting um and trying to find strength, I looked over to you and you gave me strength. So I want to say thank you um from the bottom of my heart for everything that you did, all the energy, all the thought you put into this work. Um and I also want to say that to your parents. Um thank you for being here. Thank you for for raising these amazing children. Thank you for the family members, the aunties um and the nana who supported you along the way. Um so you have so many things to celebrate um this week and next week. Um but I it's so important to me to

011have you here. Um and I will always remember what you guys have taught me. So thank you so much. >> Mr. Beer, do you want to start? >> Absolutely. We would like to recognize Mr. Leighton Cox. On behalf of the Alamar County School Board, we extend our sincere appreciation for your service as the 202526 student school board representative for Community Lab School. Throughout your tenure, you've represented you've represented Community Lab School with sincerity, steady judgment, and a clear interest in how students experience school each day. You've brought a practical student perspective to the board's work and helped strengthen the connection between student voice and dis and division level decisionmaking. Your leadership has has reflected the qualities you shared when you sought this role, active involvement in your school community, a willingness to participate fully, and

012a desire to provide honest and practical insight into both the challenges and successes students experience across our school division. In your application, you identified mental health, academic stress, student understanding, and teacher approachability as issues that matter deeply to students. And your service this year has reflected that concern for the daily experiences of your peers. You also had the opportunity this year to represent represent community lab and Alamaro County Public Schools beyond the local level through your participation in the liftoff design sprint at Stanford University. That experience which brought together students and adults to think deeply about the future of learning reflected the kind of curiosity, openness, and forward-looking leadership that student voice can bring to public education. Your reflections on that experience reminded the board that students are not only participants in education but also

013important contributors to how stu schools continue to grow and improve. As you conclude your service as a student school board representative, please know that your contributions have been valued and appreciated. You have helped elevate student voice in a way that was thoughtful, respectful, and grounded in care for your school community. As you return to community lab school for your senior year, we hope you carry forward the same curiosity, commitment, and sense of responsibility that you brought to the board, the school board this year. Your voice has already made a difference and we are confident you will continue to be a positive presence in your school community. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. We'll we'll read each read one and then we will Should we do pictures at the end? Master, should we do pictures?

014We'll do pictures at the end. Does that work? Okay, >> perfect. Perfect. Mr. Dylan, >> this is for Amy Wang. Dear Amy, on behalf of the Almor County School Board, we extend our sincere appreciation for your service as the 202526 student school board representative for Al Marl High School. Throughout your service, you came to the board prepared, informed, focused on the everyday experiences of students. You represented Almor High School with maturity and purpose, and you helped connect the board's work to the realities students are living in our schools. Your leadership reflected the qualities you shared when you sought this role. Commitment to community, advocacy for others, and a strong desire to translate student perspectives into meaningful change. In your application, you described your goal of bringing student beliefs to the school board and ensuring that

015student perspectives are protected and considered in discussions about school and divisionwide policy. Your service this year showed that commitment and action. You spoke with clarity and care about issues that affect students daily experiences, including overcrowding, access to support, multilingual student needs, school safety procedures, mental health supports, class offerings, and transparency in decision-making. You also took care to highlight the positive experiences that make Almor High School meaningful to students. From service projects and athletic accomplishments to performing arts, music, and collaboration across programs. Your remarks to the board reflected not only your own perspective, but also the voices of students you intentionally sought out and listened to directly. Whether sharing survey feedback, student interviews, or specific examples from daily school life, you help the board better understand how student experience their schools, what they value, and where

016they believe improvement is needed. As you graduate from Almarl High School on Monday and conclude your service as a student board representative, please know that your contributions have been valued and appreciated. You helped to elevate student voice in a way that was thoughtful, respectful, well researched, and grounded in care for your school community. We also congratulate you as you prepare to attend the University of Virginia, where you plan to major in biomed engineering. That path reflects the same curiosity, discipline, and commitment to problem solving that you brought to your role with the board. It's a demanding and meaningful field and we are confident you will bring to it the same care, intelligence, and purpose you have shown this year. We congratulate you on your graduation from Almor High School and wish you continued success at

017the University of Virginia and beyond. We have every confidence that you will continue to lead with purpose, advocate with compassion, and make a meaningful difference wherever your path takes you. With appreciation and best wishes, So this is for Claire Curry and I and I have all of you graduating this year. I I forget that some of you have another year. We are excited for you guys to be here for another year um and give some advice to our upcoming representatives um that we will be choosing um this month. So, dear Clare, on behalf of the Alber County School Board, we extend our sincere appreciation for your service as the student school board representative for Western Elmer High School. During your start, your time as a student school board representative, you have brought a calm, thoughtful,

018and unifying presence to the board's work. You have represented Western Elmore High School with care, and you have consistently emphasized the importance of listening across differences. Your leadership has reflected the qualities you shared when you shot this role. Collaboration, inclusion, communication, and the willingness to listen carefully to the viewpoints and experiences of others. You spoke about the importance of listening as a key part of effective representation, and your service this year has so shown that commitment in action. You have spoken with honesty and courage about issues affecting students, including school climate, belonging, discrimination, political division, and the need for students to feel safe enough to express themselves without fear. Your remarks to the B board were a meaningful reminder that strong comm school communities are not built by avoiding disagreement, but by learning how to

019disagree without losing respect for one another. As you conclude your service as a school student school board representative, please know that your contribute contributions have been valued and appreciated. You have helped elevate student voice in a way that was thoughtful, respectful, and grounded in care for your school community. As you return to Western Elmar for your senior year, we hope you carry forward the same commitment to listening inclusion and thoughtful leadership that you brought to the board this year. Your voice has already made a difference and we are confident you will continue to be a positive presence in your school community. Best wishes the school board. This is this is for Maxmillian Coffler. Dear Maximleian, on behalf of the Albamar County School Board, we extend our sincere appreciation for your service as the 202526 student

020school board representative for Monachella High School. During your time as student school board representative, you represented Montichello High School with confidence, energy, and an unmistakable willingness to speak up. You brought a direct student perspective to the board's work and helped ensure that Montichello students had a voice in conversations affecting schools across the division. Your leadership reflected the qualities you shared when you sought this role. Confidence in public speaking, goodwill towards others, and a belief that student ideas should be heard and taken seriously. In your application, you wrote that Montichello High School needed a voice people would listen to, and you offered yourself as someone prepared to represent your classmates with purpose and conviction. Your service this year showed that commitment in action. You spoke thoughtfully about issues that matter to students, including mental health, school

021community, student connection, and the importance of helping students feel supported as they move through different grade levels and expectations. You encourage schools to make mental health resources more visible and approachable and to strengthen the sense of community that helps students feel that school is more than just a building they attend. This year you also brought forward ideas about artificial intelligence and the future students are preparing to enter. Your presentation materials reflected both the rapid growth of AI and the importance of helping students understand how emerging technology may shape learning work and opportunity in the years ahead. As you graduate Montichello High School and conclude your service as student school board representative, we also want to recognize the exciting and ambitious path you are already building. You have been offered admission to the University of Virginia,

022a well-earned accomplishment and reflection of your hard work. Whether you begin at UVA this fall or choose to pursue a planned gap year first, you are clearly approaching your next chapter with purpose. During your gap year, you plan to continue your work with Rise Rain Rule, a coaching and consulting business, while also continuing your insure with Vandera, an AI startup focused on modernizing traditional vending machines. Your goal of bringing several smart units to the Charlottesville area as your own business reflects initiative, independence, and the kind of entrepreneurial thinking that turns ideas into action. In addition to your professional goals, your plans to serve as a ski race coach for Wintergreen Race Team show your willingness to mentor younger athletes and share your experience with others. Your upcoming hike of the Tour Dum Mont Blanc with

023your sister along with your plans to visit friends around the country also reflect a sense of adventure, curiosity, and confidence as you step into the next chapter. Please know that your contributions to the school board have been valued and appreciated. You helped elevate student voice with confidence, curiosity, and a practical understanding of the world that students are stepping into. We congratulate you on your graduation from Montichello High School and wish you continued success and all that comes next. Whether that path begins at the University of Virginia this fall or through the gap year experiences you have thoughtfully planned, we have every confidence that you will continue to lead with confidence, think creatively, and make a meaningful difference in your community and beyond. We appreciate you and give you best wishes. And last but not least,

024by longshot, this is for Maxwell Keys. Dear Maxwell, on behalf of the Albam Marl County School Board, we extend our sincere appreciation for your service in the 2025 2026 student school board representative for Alamarl High School. Throughout your tenure, you have used your seat at the table to speak with courage, purpose, and a clear sense of responsibility. You have represented Alam Marl High School with maturity while also keeping in mind that experiences of students the experiences of students across Alam Marl County Public Schools. Your advocacy reflected the qualities you identified when you sought this role. Persistence, compassion, determination, and a strong commitment to equity. In your application, you shared your desire to help make ACPS as a school division where every student and educator can thrive. And your service this year showed us that commitment

025in action. You spoke with clarity about issues that matters to students, including belonging, school climate, student engagement, representation, and the importance of creating learning environments where all students feel safe, welcomed, and able to succeed. Your remarks to the board were not only thoughtful, but also a reminder that student voice is strongest when it is honest, informed, and grounded in care for the whole community. As you graduate from Alamarl High School and conclude your service as a student school board representative, please know that your contributions have been valued and will be remembered. We are proud of the leadership you have shown, the example you have set, and the future that lies ahead of you. We also congratulate you as you prepare to continue your education at the University of Virginia, where you will pursue a Bachelor

026of Science in Education. I hope you'll come back here. Um, it is especially meaningful to see a student schoolboard representative carry this experience forward into the field of education. We wish you continued success at the University of Virginia and beyond. We have every confidence that you will continue to lead with purpose, speak with conviction, and make a meaningful difference wherever you go. Thank you so much. Before we take the required pictures, I have a few other thank yous to make on this. I want to offer a special thank you to Amber Roberts, our work and community-based learning coordinator, who has worked closely with our student representatives throughout the year. Amber has helped prepare them for meetings, supported them in understanding the work of the board, and guiding them as they develop their voices in this

027role. Her steady support has helped make this experience meaningful for our students and so valuable for the board. So, thank you, Amber. And and last but not least to the families. We want to recognize their families who have supported them throughout this experience. Students do not reach moments like this alone and we are glad to have family members with us tonight. We are recognizing Claire. Um and with her this evening are her parents Jamie and Chris Curry, Leighton Cox, and thanking his parents Abigail and Zeke Cox. Maxwell Keys. Thank you to his mother, Leilani Keys. Maximleian Coffer. Thank you so much to Adele and Joe Coffer. And also to Amy uh with her parents, Juan Lynn and Schwin Ha Wong. Thank you so much. So I think we will have the students come forward um

028and do the and uh shake our hands or or uh and then we will hand you your certificates and then we will take a big picture at the end. Is that right? >> Make sure you give the right ones to the right student. >> Yeah, >> it's a test. >> This is This is a test for the board members to make sure we match the their certificate with the student. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you so much. Good luck. >> Thanks for the work you did while you >> too short. Thank you so much. So appreciate it. >> Thank you. See you at EBA. >> See you all at EBA if you like. Thank you so much. >> Did you forget you missed >> forgot to give? >> You forgot to give. >> We forgot to

029give you your certificate. >> Yep. Yep. We will be easier. >> Yep. Of course. >> The screens Sorry. Yes. >> Look at me. >> Come on, guys. We have like realiz Somebody has to come on this. >> We're out of balance. >> Out of balance. >> Amber's got to be here. >> I know. Amber needs to be in the center. >> Come on, Amber. Come on. >> Come on, Miss Amber. Come on. Come on. >> Come on. >> Right. >> Cuz I'm the shortest. Is that the >> good >> Thank you guys. or do you want surgery to arthritis or just y'all look down this way real quick? >> Oh, it's a post. >> Stephan Amy got to do something. >> He's waiting on you to take >> a Oh, what a great picture. A

030Thank you. >> All right. Thanks y'all. Appreciate that. >> Thank you so much. We also have a cookie cake for the graduates. I just realized I was supposed to say >> so to so to continue our celebration um it is at my absolute honor to recognize actually Dan is who who is Dan? >> I'm standing in >> you're standing in. That's what I thought. Sorry. Apologies. Um, I'd like to recognize Deafany Kaiser um who is going to lead our um recognition of retirees. >> Thank you very much, Dr. Berlin. Uh, good evening everyone and welcome. Uh tonight is an incredibly special evening for Alamar County Public Schools as we gather to recognize and celebrate a remarkable group of individuals whose dedication, compassion, and service have helped shape generations of students and strengthen our entire school

031community. Among those being honored this evening are teachers, administrators, support staff, transportation staff, operations personnel, and so many others whose daily work often happens quietly, faithfully, and without fanfare. yet whose impact has been immeasurable. For years and in many cases decades, these individuals have shown up for our students and for one another. They have celebrated successes, navigated challenges, adapted to change, solved problems, offered encouragement, and created places where children could learn, grow, and belong. The impact of their work lives on in the students they inspired, the colleagues they supported, and the communities they strengthen. We also want to recognize and thank the families, friends, and loved ones who supported these retirees throughout their careers. Service and education is never done alone, and tonight we celebrate them and all who walked alongside them on this journey.

032Retirement is not simply the end of a career. It is the recognition of a lifetime of commitment, service, and care for others. As I reflected on what it means to reach this milestone, I hope I get there one day myself. Um, I came across a poem that beautifully captures the shared experiences and lasting bonds created through years of working together in service to others. It seems it's been forever since the first time that we met. We've shared some days together that we just cannot forget. There was work and there was laughter. There were tears and triumphs too, successes and disasters, but somehow we came through. Yes, we worked to make things last, and yes, we had to strive. Our hearts and minds were fully in it, and we truly felt alive. It's those moments we'll

033rely on. They bespeak the way we feel. For we started out as iron, but we ended up as steel. And now, in days that yet will dawn, although we'll be apart, those memories we know will spawn a smile within our hearts. Now, take our wishes with you for blessings in all you do, for happiness in all your days, and for love to see you through. Tonight we honor not only years of service but also the relationships built, the lives touched and the enduring legacy each retiree leaves behind. As your name is called this evening, please come forward to the deis to receive your certificate and greet the school board and cabinet members. After receiving your certificate, we ask that you remain standing along the wall so that once all the retirees have been recognized, we

034may take a group photo with the school board. In the coming month, each retiree will also receive a letter in the mail with information about selecting a retirement service award. This small token is offered in appreciation for many years of dedication, care, and commitment you've given to Alamar County Public Schools. It is now my privilege to recognize our retirees for their years of dedicated service to Albamar County Public Schools. Jane Addison, John Apperson, stand up, >> Barbara Barber, Mark Baron, Luther Braxton, Jr. Breeden, Paula Brown, >> someone told me that Carla has dedicated 42 years of her life >> to her profession. That is absolutely amazing. Congratulations Jack Carol, Barbara Carwell. Well, >> Congratulations, Barbara. Thank you so much. >> Kip Chatter, Kathy Kaufman, Paka Connor, Thank you. >> Thank you for calling. Congratulations. Thank

035you for your work. >> Thank you so much. service. >> Latrice Cooper Simpson. >> I think Woohoo! She deserves it. >> I was just about to say next time we need some walk up music for these. >> Thank you. >> Now we're going to change Dr. >> H. We appreciate you. >> No, thank you so much. We appreciate you. >> Enjoy. >> It is. Yes. >> Congratulations. >> Glad to get to the end. Michelle Cesy, Cynthia Curtis. >> Thank you. Thanks for your work. >> Thank you for your dedication. >> Thanks very much. Christine Diggs. >> Thank you, Christine. Thanks for your Laura Emory, Stacy England, Thank you. Thanks for your >> Thank you so much. Congratulations. >> Michael Farabal, Donna Ferrer. Thank you. >> Thanks for your work. >> Thank you so much. >>

036Oh my god. Lucy Gentry. >> Thank you. >> Thanks for your work, Mr. Thank you so much. >> Katherine Hamill. Thank you. Thanks for your work. >> Thank you so much. >> Hope you have some family vacations like this photo. >> Lisa Harmon. Thank you. Thanks for your >> Thank you so much. >> Congratulations. Thomasa Harrison, Karen Heathcot, Keith Hec, Amy Heppler. >> Mhm. Thank you. >> Thanks for your work. so much Orani, Carol Jansen's, Beth Kolier, Joe Lavaro, Scott Layman, Thank you, Scott. >> Thank you so much for your dedication. Mark Leachch, Susan Lure, Diane Mopin, Lisa Molina, Thank you. Thanks for your work. Congratulations. >> Thank you. It's our birthdays are one day apart. Doug Mullenix, Russell Napier, Kelly Olier, Stephen Passel, Emily Pastorfield, Jeffrey Pearlman, Michelle Profett, Thanks for your dedication. Calvin

037Reed. >> Thank you. Thanks for your work, Mr. >> Thank you for your dedication. Bethany Robinson. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Cheryl Rush, Susan Scoffield, Wesley Scott, Debbie Shaylor, YOU >> DEFINITELY HAVE AMAZING WOW. I JUST I JUST HEARD THAT. SO WE we up one upped um 42 years I'm sorry with 43 years. Karen Shifflet, Debbie Spears, Carol Stutzman, Jen Sublett, Diane Sims, Jill Williams, Tammy Williams, and Yan John. Yanjan Ratu. All right, please join me once again in congratulating and thanking our retirees. Uh your years of service, dedication, compassion, and commitment have made a lasting difference in the lives lives of students, families, colleagues, and the entire community. While your careers with Albamar County Public Schools may be concluding, the impact of your work will continue for many years to come.

038Congratulations on this well-earned retirement, and we wish each of you joy, fulfillment, health, and happiness in the chapters ahead. Would the audience please join me? One final round of applause for our retirees. At this time, if our uh we invite our retirees and the schoolboard members to gather up front for a group photo. I'll be kind of just so young. Uh, this is going to be interesting. We're going to have to d So, the taller people to the back, the mediumsized people to the front. Do it. >> Look this way real quick. Look this way real quick. One, two, three. All right. >> Back that way. Everybody else. >> Thank y'all. Congratulations y'all. >> Congratulations. >> I owe you. >> Yes, I can do that, too. >> Thank you. >> Who was the poet? Um,

039you know, I'm not I'm not sure. >> Yeah. >> Oops. >> Yeah. We are just going to pause for a second to let all of the retirees and their families continue this celebration outside. So, we'll begin in a minute or two. We would love to have you stay, but if you need to go home uh to do homework or >> enjoy your life >> or enjoy your life, thank you. Um we we totally understand. >> So, we will leave it up to you, >> but don't leave your cake. >> Yeah. Make sure you eat your cake. >> Is Kha here? The next item on our school board, just while while people are continuing to exit, um is school board superintendent and committee updates. I know we have one update by Kesha Lipkcom on um summer

040programming. Um, but before she comes up, I just wanted to see if any school board members have any announcements or updates. >> No, we covered all the >> I think. Yeah, I think we we covered all the graduations that we've been at. We're not doing school visits because of testing. >> So, any other updates? Okay. I just wanted to mention several of us were able to be at the center one ceremony today and I just want to give a shout out to Mr. Thomas who's done an outstanding job there. I'm old school teacher and so the the things that the students are doing there at center 1 just blew my mind and so it was fun to see the culmination of their hard work over the course of the year and uh again continued success

041there at center 1. >> Um I'd like to ask Dr. Dr. Kesha Lipscom, executive director of preK12, to come forward and uh provide an update about our summer programming. >> Thank you. Can you hear me? Can you hear me now? >> Yeah. Just bring it up just a teeny bit. >> Okay, there you go. >> All right. Thank you. Good evening, board chair Dr. Berlin, superintendent Dr. Hos, and school board members. I'm Dr. Kesha Lipskum, the executive director of K12 administration and instruction. And tonight I will present a brief overview of our summer initiatives. Our goal is to ensure student readiness and academic continuity across all grade levels. Schools use student data in reading and math to invite students to summer programs. Our preK through 8 summer programs and rising freshman programs for select students

042allow students to work on foundational literacy and numeracy skills. We will measure effectiveness by tracking the rate at which summer attendees are able to engage with grade level content at the beginning of the school year for preK through 8 programs and completion of courses for high schoolers who participate in credit recovery or initial credit opportunities. Programs integrate English learners and special education students. Extended school year support is also available for eligible students. The document before you provides the details of our preK through 12 programs as well as information on summer site dates and locations. If parents have any questions about the summer programs, they should contact their child's school. Are there any questions? remind me, are we providing um food during the summer for students either in the program or outside of those? Could you

043just take that one because I have a little more information on that one as well? Oh, >> go ahead. >> So, uh we offer breakfast and lunch at our summer school programs um through two different USDA programs, the National School Lunch Program and the summer food service program, which we call SFSP. At our SFSP designated sites, meals are not are not only available to summer school attendees, but also to all children 18 and younger within the surrounding school community. So this summer, those locations include Agar, Woodbrook, Greer, Jouri, Burley, Red Hill, and Walton. And then to better serve our families, we applied for an additional grant this summer for a what's called a hybrid non- congregate model. So at Greer, Walton, and Red Hill, the school only schools that qualify. On Thursdays, we will be

044able to prepare and send home breakfast and lunch for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Again, that's open to the um community in those schools. So, we just were recently informed that our grant was approved. So, we will now plan our broader community communication plan around that. >> Thank you. >> That is wonderful. Thank you so much. >> Thank you for your continued support. Just I I do have one. How many children how many students are we anticipating in summer school? >> That number is still being determined because we're still enrolling students and um of course in the high school we're still waiting to see what some of our scores are going to pan out to be and students are still registering for the initial um courses. >> Just remind me approximately how many we had last

045summer. >> That I do not know. >> Ah, >> thank you. I will find out. >> We can figure it out. >> Yes. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. and we'll Dr. Auff, we'll provide a follow-up report so you know. >> Thank you. >> Do we have any other um announcements, updates? >> Seeing no other, we will move to public comment. And I've asked Mr. Dimmitic to chair um oversee I won't let you chair it. I'll let you oversee it. Public comment. >> We welcome public input at our school board meetings. to sign up to speak during the public comment period. You can do so in several ways. One, online. Sign up is available from 9:00 am on the Monday of the meeting week until 2 pm on the meeting day. By phone, you can call the

046school board's schoolboard clerk's office at 434972455 to sign up until 2 p.m. on the meeting day or in person. Sign up at the meeting is available from 6:00 p.m. until the public comment period for in-person meetings only. Please note that public comment is not received at special board meetings unless specified on the agenda. Each speaker will have three minutes to speak, but the chair with board consent may reduce this to two minutes should there be 14 or more speakers. The maximum number of people or groups that may speak at a meeting is 20. If there are more than 20 people or groups who wish to speak at a particular meeting, each speaker will be assigned a number and numbers will be drawn to determine which people or groups will have the opportunity to speak. Those

047who do not have the opportunity to speak at a particular meeting may sign up to speak at a subsequent meeting andor may submit written comments for the school board's consideration. Speakers should number one state their name, address, or voting district. Number two, address comments to the school board as a whole. Limit comments to schoolboard governance or school division operations. Comments may not be directed to individual board members, division leadership, or to staff. Provide written statements and supporting materials to the clerk. The school board will use a timer to track each speaker's time. Once the time is up, speakers are asked to wrap up their comments. To maintain respect, please refrain from clapping or other audible forms of support. You may raise your hand instead. Debate with the school board is not allowed. The projection system

048is for staff presentations only. And this evening we have eight people who've signed up for public comment. So we'll start with uh Tom Perise and on deck will be Jana Bailey. this good. Hi, my name is Tom Pannarice. I live in the Revena district. I am an English teacher at Alam Marl High School. I am also the parent of a graduate of Alamar High School, the class of 2025. I'm here tonight to talk about the grading policy. Uh during the public comment at the April 23rd meeting, my colleague Jen McDonald spoke to you about the impact our current grading policy has had. She talked about the issues that have come with the lack of consequences for late work, how grades have been inflated by giving 50% credit for missing work, and how students can avoid

049major assignments and still pass a course. I stand by everything she said because over the past 5 years, I have also seen these effects firsthand. This policy is not serving our students very well. In fact, I've had students tell me that they need the structure and rigor that the grading policy diluted. And that includes accountability through consequences when they do not meet the expectations we set. Even my own child, Brett, who graduated last year and was an AP student at AHS, told me, quote, "Retakes made it feel like the first attempt at anything didn't matter. And this coupled with the lack of deadlines made it easy to not take assignments seriously and then brush them off. When the policy was adopted, my colleagues and I felt that we didn't have much of a voice. And

050during these past 5 years, teachers have come to public comment and raised the same concerns I've expressed tonight. We've also seen outcry from students, teachers, parents on social media, as well as publications such as the AHS Revolution and the Cro Gazette. These voices are loud. They want change. Um, I was very glad to see that a grading policy governance committee was being formed and I think that's a very good start. Uh, teachers in the community deserve to have a say in say in how schools are run. Teachers have a deserve to have a say in how our classrooms are run. Any committee that's formed truly needs to address our concerns. It should not be a way to pay lip service. It should nor should it be a rubber stamp. If you are gathering a group

051of experienced teaching professionals, then that group should be a leading voice for change. So I ask you to please take the work of that or any committee formed regarding the grading policy seriously. Listen to the voice of the teachers. Follow our suggestions. Give us the chance to do our work. We all want our students to succeed. Changing harmful policies through giving those who are affected a real voice will help that. When we have a say, we feel valued and that creates a better learning culture and a stronger community. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next up, uh Jana Bailey and Christina Raw is on deck. >> Good evening. My name is Janna Bailey. I am the librarian at Greer Elementary and I reside in the Jack Dwitt district. I'm here tonight to advocate for my

052colleagues, the families of Greer and most importantly the students of Greer. Our leader of the past seven years, Dr. Steve Saunders is leaving at the end of this school year. I cannot adequately express how unsettling, disorienting, and stressful this change has been for my school community. Strong and consistent leadership in Title One schools is critical for success. According to the Learning Policy Institute, principles are essential to improving student achievement and narrowing persistent achievement gaps between students in underserved communities and their economically advantaged peers. The Wallace Foundation states, "Effective principles have measurable effects on student absenteeism and chronic absenteeism, lowering teacher turnover in high poverty schools and student achievement in both math and reading. Brookings Institution reports that principal turnover is associated with lower test scores, school proficiency rates, and teacher retention, and the disruption from

053the turnover event. itself contributes to a decline in several school outcomes. I'm here tonight to ask for transparency. Where are we in the search for a principal for Greer? We want to know. I'm here tonight to ask for an open dialogue. Do we have additional candidates? How many? When are they being interviewed? Will Greer staff members be on this panel? What is the timetable for making a leadership decision? I'm here tonight to ask that we remember and embrace and honor the core values of ACPS, specifically equity. We will provide every student with the level of support necessary to thrive and the core value, family and community. We will engage with and share the responsibility for student success with families and community partners. In closing, my heart aches for Greer. Excuse me. We had the best

054leadership and we continue to deserve that. Excuse me. I invite you to come to our school. Reassure our staff members and families that everything possible is being done to ensure that the individual who replaces Dr. Saunders will either be equal to his high caliber or somehow exceed it. >> Thank you so much for your >> career matters to us. Please show us that it matters to you. Thank you, Miss Baylor. >> I a I ask that I ask that you not clap. You may wave your hands, but please follow the guidelines of Virginia code. >> Next, Christina Ra and on deck, Holly Odum. >> Good evening. I'm Christina Ra. I am in the Ravana district at Baker Butler and I have three children in attendance there. I'm also the Baker Butler rep for the family

055council and I'm here tonight alongside other parents and staff because our school is about to hire its third principal in three years. We're now the largest elementary school in Alamar County and we're incredibly diverse and right now we're a community that needs stability trust and a leader who was chosen with us, not for us. In the past, despite this community offering clear feedback, the hiring processes within the hiring processes, the county has made decisions without us. To be especially blunt, the community's recommendations were completely ignored repeatedly. The the consequences are severe. Teachers have been assaulted. Behavioral issues are rampant, and disciplinary actions have been inconsistent. That creates chaos for students, staff, and families. Our amazing teachers have left in droves already and more will be gone by next year. This instability is deeply upsetting to

056our special education families who are watching incredible sp teachers and aids leave due to the administration's attitude over the past three years. An example is that one family reported that a crucial part of their IEP, which is early access to know their teacher and visit the school before open house, has been unfulfilled by the administration for 2 years. Even after personal promises, the family was ignored. This is what poor leadership looks like. We cannot afford to repeat this. The school year starts in three months. This community is taking it matters into its own hands. We are not waiting to be asked. We're gathering data through our own survey to define what we, which is the community, need at Baker and Baker Butler's next leader. The county may do a fine job in evaluating candidates on

057paper, but only we know what this incredible community needs. Everyone here holds responsibility to this community, whether directly or indirectly, and we expect you to ensure that our voices are heard. We'll do our part. We'll deliver the data and we expect it to be used. We expect the priorities of our teachers and our families to be reflected in the candidates you screen. and we expect to be involved in the hiring process and to have a principal in August who was chosen with us. Baylor Baker Butler has an incredibly passionate community that does not have what is needed to thrive and the systemic impacts of this show up daily. I'll leave you with this. We are organized. We are paying attention and we will be back next week with data. Thank you. Special thanks to Dr.

058Kaiser for showing up to engage with us earlier this week and we'll have the data for you in a few days. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next up, Holly ODM and on deck Deborah Kidd. >> Okay. >> Hi, my name is Holly ODM and I reside in the Jackwitt district with students at Greer and Jouri. I came today in solidarity with the Baker Butler community and to share my experience as a mother of a dyslexic student in ACPS. Journalist Emily Hanford of the podcast sold a story states, "Reading doesn't come naturally. We have to learn to read." And there's something about the brains of people with dyslexia that makes learning to read really hard. It's just that many people with dyslexia don't get past the beginning reader stage unless they get the right kind

059of help. When they don't get that help, school can be torture. Knowing many GRE educators are leaving this year, I want to use this last public opportunity to amplify those who have helped us navigate literacy in the IEP process. To the Greer reading intervention team, thank you Miss Palmer now at Mountain View who is the first to help us. To Miss Ray, Miss Dbor, Miss Abbercomi, Miss Labelloo, Miss Llant, and Miss Kratic. They are miracle workers. Thank you to our incredible sped case manager, Miss Lawrence. To our classroom teachers, Miss Morris, Miss Gier, to Miss Mutzabah, Miss Chain Bacon, Miss Buckles, Miss Wolf, and Miss Glam, who are literal magicians teaching my children to read. To coach Lacron, Miss Bailey, Miss Lee, Miss Henry, Miss Newberry, and Miss Irvin, who've wrapped around their support. and

060to principal Saunders. I will never forget his kindness and listening ear and our first ESPIT meeting many years ago. My husband Bo and I are grateful that our IEP team created space. So, our meetings were curious spaces, hopeful, strength focused, and always a place of being known. Also, it's not lost on me that we are the privileged few that can pay to supplement with not excuse me, with necessary afterchool tutoring. Shout out to Emerson Health Learning downtown. um who helps our kids. So sore school board, I entrust to you this that the next principal of Greer is of that same high caliber of principal Saunders with fortitude to patiently come alongside our families navigating disabilities and learning differences. Lastly, I echo um from sorry I echo the call from the Baker Butler community. I am

061so sad to hear this pattern repeating. Schoolboard members, two things can be true. That it is not your job to hire and move principles and it is your job to manage the superintendent who does. Greer Baker Buckler, we will continue on building bridges and inviting you into our distinct school communities so you can know us better and make decisions with us. With us. Thank you again for your time and your service and your care for students. Thanks. Thank you. Next up, Deborah Kidd and on deck, Lizzie Batman. Good evening. My name is Deborah Kidd and I reside in the Ryana District. I have three children who attended or attended Baker who attend or attended Baker Butler and a fourth starting this coming school year. When my oldest first started school, we felt welcome. The front

062office was peaceful. The principal, Steve Saunders, often answered the phone and knew everybody by name. Teachers who weren't my kids' teachers knew my kids' names. It was a smaller school. Our school is now bigger. Co happened. Our school got even bigger. And even after dis redistricting, our school is going to get even bigger with the proposed plans and increases to NGIC and DIA nearby. This is not the proving ground for anyone. This is not where people should learn how to do a job even if the school wasn't in crisis. What we can all agree on is that we all want what's best. What we can't agree on is what is best. Let's look at our most pressing issues. There is disciplinary chaos. There is no consistency in providing disciplinary action or disciplinary support. Teachers are

063getting physically assaulted every single day. There is limited instructional time because teachers do not have admin support to deal with behavioral issues. Teachers and teachers and front office staff are having to apologize to parents because there is a disconnect and breakdown in communication and action between school leadership and parents. Teacher retention is at an all-time low. Last year there was um there was almost a complete turnover of fifth grade teachers. Out of six teachers, we have six. Only one stayed on the team and we're about to do that again. We're about to lose almost all of our special education staff. This is a school that is in absolute crisis. And recent admin appointments have not helped it thrive. In another life, I was an engineer. I worked in a lab. I did cutting edge research,

064making decisions based on evidence and produced by experiments. I quit all of that to make my family and raising children my full-time job. And now I'm making it my very very personal mission to make sure that this board does right by our community because I tried to do this your way. I tried to do this by following policies and procedures. I tried to do it by supporting teachers and supporting the PTO. I served on the PTO board for two years. I did everything the school and the PTO asked me to do and it was not enough. But most of all, I try to do it by sitting on your selection committees where we spent hours and days interviewing comm um candidates only to have Dr. Hos choose someone that the group you unanimously decided was

065not qualified and not fit for our community or just choose someone out of left field that was not even in our candidate candidate um field. So, I'm begging you, please do this right. listen to our community and consider how your decisions affect our whole community, please, because we are a school in crisis and we are going to be a squeaky wheel, a thorn in your shoe until you do right by us. We appreciate it. >> Thank you. Next up is uh Lizzie Batman and on deck, Michelle Drago. >> Hello and uh thank you for your second to turn the mics back on. >> Cool. We're good. I'm pretty loud. Anyways, um hello and thank you for your time this evening. Uh my name is Lizzie Batman. I'm in the Jack Dwet district and shocking to

066everyone here, I have kids at Greer. Um I'm the mother of two girls there. Uh outside of being a mother of two girls at Greer, I'm co-chair for family council. I'm a member of the talent development committee and you could say I'm a fairly involved parent. I know you've heard a lot about Greer in our school in recent months and we'll continue to do so until we have a new principal in place. I've been assured that the candidates for this role have title one backgrounds and while I truly appreciate that fact, I need to remind you that not all Title One schools have the same needs. Greer has a large portion of international students, particularly centered on Iranian, Afghan, and Latinx communities. I work at the school of engineering, and many of our foreign students,

067international students, have their children at Greer, including my daughter's best friend. We need a principal who can inspire these students to come to school every day because, as is repeated, Greer geckos come to school every day. But we are in a time of strife and stress for these families in an administration that is pushing back against international families. Having these students come to school with a principal as they do now is incredible and unheard of across the nation. We have that trust and we need someone who is going to build that trust quickly or Greer scores will continue to go down. They have been going up because people have been showing up, but it will change. So, now I'm going to get off that soap box and onto another. Why are there so many elementary

068principal openings in this county? Greer, Baker, Butler, Stony Point, Stone Robinson, Agner just got a new one. Y'all made a great choice. I'm being serious with that. So, good job. Um, but what's happening? What is happening in our county? How can we support our students, faculty, and staff as families, but also as a board? I'd like more clarity. I'd like to know if there's a way that more information can be commun communicated. I'm all ears. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next up, Michelle Drago. And on deck, Megan Jackson. >> Hi, I'm Michelle Drago. I live in the Ryana District. Um, I'm a teacher at Baker Butler and also a Baker Butler parent. I wanted to speak tonight about my concerns about the administration issue at our school. This is my 17th year as a teacher

069here in Charlottesville and it's my fifth year at Baker Butler. Um, in those five years, we are gearing up to hire our fourth principal. I have deep concerns about this and the hiring process that we've had in the past. Last year when we were searching for a principal, there were several teachers and family members on the interview committee. They were assured their voices would be heard and taken into consideration. However, the principal who was hired was not even interviewed by the committee. So, there is no way their opinions were taken into consideration at all. This is not an indictment of the principal, but an indictment on the hiring process and the trust that we feel we can have in that process going forward. It was a waste of the committee members time and energy, and

070it was highly disrespectful to them. Staff and families have the greatest knowledge about the needs of our school and our students, and we are not willing to have this happen again. There are a lot of qualities we need in our incoming principal, but one that we need with urgency is an administrator who has a deep knowledge and understanding of the world of special education. My youngest child, who currently attends Baker Butler, has multiple disabilities and complex needs. He was served this year by an incredible, knowledgeable, caring, passionate team of special education teachers and assistants. However, the impact of our continual administrative turnover has wre havoc on our special education program and on the level of support that our special education staff receives. Having so many different leadership styles, communication difficulties, changing protocols and expectations has

071led to a chaotic school environment which is lacking the support that those staff members and students need. This year alone, we are losing nearly 3/4 of our entire special education staff. They are not leaving the profession and they are not leaving the county. The overwhelming majority of them are leaving Baker Butler to go work at other schools within Amiral County where they have more stable leadership and where they have people who are experts in supporting special education. We currently have seven full-time special education teachers. Only two are returning. The five leaving have been longtime members at Baker Butler and they didn't make their decision to leave lightly. and the special education teaching assistants who are leaving. We need to acknowledge that our incoming administration has to make hiring, retaining, and supporting our sped staff and

072students one of their highest priorities. Our students with disabilities are our most vulnerable students, and Baker Butler has the largest sped population of any elementary school in the county. Any incoming administrator has to have clear plans on how to retain our special education staff in the future because we're losing a huge portion of them this year. They are our most hardworking and most dedicated staff members and they are going to other schools where they will get the support they need. Them leaving makes it so that our students with special needs are the ones who pay the price. So, it's vital that we are absolutely transparent in the hiring process and seriously take the input of staff and families. We need to hire a strong leader with a deep understanding of sped who wants to stay

073at Baker Butler for the long term to put us on the right path. Uh, Megan Jackson. >> Hi, my name is Megan Jackson and I'm speaking tonight through a dual lens. As a parent of two Baker Butler students and as a member of the school staff, first I want to sincerely thank Dr. Kaiser and Dr. Sears for the recent transparency and willingness to engage with our community. That openness deeply was was deeply appreciated. However, I'm here to advocate for leadership selection that goes beyond and beyond administrative competence and addresses the heart of our school's current challenge, the need for a cultural and relational stability. The impact of our leadership and stability is best illustrated by my own children. My daughters Alise and Emma are preparing to enter fourth and third grade under their fourth elementary

074school principal. And for children in their most formative years, leadership shouldn't be a revolving door. It should be a steady promoter presence. When a child who doesn't know who is leading their school, they lose a vital layer of security. When leadership changes frequently, we really can see that evidently in our schoolwide behavior and the environment. Relationships are the foundation of effective discipline. And without a consistent leader to build those bonds, model expectations, and reinforce them daily. Students lose their sense of what is normal. Our students don't just need a principal. They need a c culture builder. someone who knows their names, celebrates their growth, and provides a predictable, safe routine. That instability has also taken a heavy toll on staff morale. There's palpable turnover fatigue in our hallways. We know that a teacher's working environment

075is a student's learning environment. And to have a thriving school, we need a leader who prioritizes authentic relationships with staff. Someone who listens to our expertise, values our history, and understands that supporting teacher morale is the most direct way to support the students success. Given the high number of vacancies across the division, we fear the process may be stretch stretched too thin and Baker Butler cannot afford another temporary solution. In closing, the Baker Butler community is full of incredible families and students and a very resilient staff. But resilience shouldn't be a requirement of elementary school. We are ready to move past starting over and begin building up. We need a leader who is committed to staying, listening, and bringing a renewed sense of pride, joy, and most importantly, connection back to our building. >> Thank

076you. And thank you all for your comments this evening. >> The next item on our agenda is the approval of our consent agenda. Do I have a motion on this? >> I move we approve tonight's consent agenda moved by Miss Osborne. Do I have a second? >> Second by uh Mr. Beard. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Um is it possible to pull an item from the consent agenda at this point? >> It was like 30 seconds. We you can ask we you can ask for um uh if Miss Osborne would uh I'm going use the word repeal. I'm looking at Josh. That's not the would would would repeal would take away her remove her motion and if Mr. Beer >> I withdraw my repeal. Sorry, it's been a long day.

077>> Undo the last 60 seconds. Go ahead. >> Thank you. Uh I I I did want to pull one item from the consent agenda and that is u the last item on the agenda 5.7 information. Uh the achievement gap advisory committee the charter we had discussed several weeks ago and I I'm curious to know what we need to do to advance this to the next stage. uh with I know there was some discussion about um uh uh requesting some professional development for those of us uh on the board and especially on the committee. Um I'm just wondering aloud if it's possible to advance a vote on the charter so that we can continue down the path. >> Mr. Do you want to I give an up or Mr. Do you want to give an update

078on or on prof on the professional development? I know we're looking I had reached out and um that you guys were looking into one of the the requests from a number of board members or to do some to have some professional development for the board as part of that and I know you're looking into um timing um and the uh the staff or or consultants who would do that. So could you provide an update on that? So, we've had um meetings with uh Jean Cash about conducting professional development and we're we're ready to but we've got another meeting scheduled with him. So, um at the direction of the board, we can start working on scheduling that. And when I say we, I mean Dr. Kaiser and myself. So, we're poised to launch get that scheduled

079and start working on it. Actually, we have invited um Jean and um the Counseling Alliance of Virginia to come to speak and give a update on their current work in the division in June. >> Um so we were um scheduled to brief the board about uh CAVA. >> How about this? Um, since uh all of that can happen without this happening and because several of us are missing tonight, I know have quorum and we can do whatever. Can we do the consent agenda with the exception of pool 5.7 and revisit that next time? >> That's great. >> Is that all right? >> Okay. Yeah. So my motion is to approve the consent agenda with the exception of 5.7 and we will hold that until more of us are here. >> Thank you for that. >>

080Sounds good. >> Do I have a second on that motion with the amendment? >> I'll second that motion. >> Oh, thank you Mr. Dillanbach. So moved by Miss Osborne, seconded by Mr. Dillanbeck. All those in favor of the consent agenda with the removal of 5.7 >> I. Any opposed? uh consent agenda 5.0 0 51 through 56 moves forward. Um and then we are removing 5.7. Um and Miss Thompson, we will put that on um for action for information next. What? Say that again. and uh for our May 28th meeting. Okay. >> So, too. Um the next item on our agenda is 7.0 school division business and the first piece is our third quarter financial report. Um Mr. Jackson Zimmerman our school finance offer officer will be doing that for us and that we will be

081that is for action correct and we will be taking a vote on that. >> Uh that is correct. Good evening schoolboard members. Um Jackson Zimmerman. I'm your school finance officer. I'm here to present the third quarter financial report. Uh much of this report is very similar to our second quarter. Um we are still having good financial performance. There have been a wide range of items discussed uh that would impact the current year's budget uh from uh reallocation of some resources to meet uh existing needs in the current budget along with uh bonuses. These are all included in your third quarter report. uh all actions that have the board has taken place on um we have good financial performance and expect to finish the uh fiscal year in a positive uh place. The last page of

082our financial report uh details where we think we will end the fiscal year. We will end the fiscal year with about a million3 in available fund balance from what we have planned. We hope that that number will improve as our fourth quarter continues, but um right now we are on a a strong financial path and ask the board to approve the third quarter financial report or I'll field any questions if you have any. >> I move we accept the third quarter financial report as presented by Mr. Zimmerman. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Moved by Dr. AOF seconded by Mr. Beard. All those in favor of approving our um fiscal year third quarter fiscal year 2526 third quarter financial report. >> I I any opposed the the report is uh >> Motion

083carries. Thank you. So, appreciate that might be the the shortest um not not that budgets aren't important and not that we haven't looked at th those numbers carefully, but that might be the shortest financial report ever. Thank you so much for all of your work. >> And it's still light out. And it's still light out. Um uh the next item on our agenda is um Dr. Deafany Kaiser uh our community engagement update, our student senate focus. All right. Good evening, Chair Berlin and school board members. Um, tonight we're excited to prov provide an update on the student senate and the work students have led across ACPS during the school year. Um, what we hope you will hear tonight is not simply a summary of events or meetings, but how students across our schools are increasingly

084serving as partners in improving school culture, strengthening communication, and shaping conversations about school and system priorities. Tonight, we will briefly review how this work connects to the division's strategic plan, provide an overview of the student senate structure and this year's work. I hear directly from students about projects and experiences, and then close with refle reflections, themes, and next steps. Um, student senate is deeply connected to the ACPS plan, a strategic plan and our commitment to learning for all. Uh, this works this work supports thriving students through leadership development and belonging, affirming and empowering communities through authentic student voice and equitable and transformative resources by ensuring student experiences help inform decisions and priorities. At its core, Student Senate operationalizes the belief that we must know every student and that students themselves should help shape the systems

085intended to support them. Student Senate was created to build a more consistent divisionwide structure for student voice across ACPS. Um rather than relying on occasional feedback opportunities, this structure creates ongoing opportunities for students to build leadership, connect across schools, identify shared concerns, and contribute to conversations about school and division priorities. Um over time, this has helped move student voice from something episodic to something more sustained and embedded within our system. Uh the student senate is a student-led leadership body uh designed to amplify student voice across ACPS. Um students engage directly with school leaders, division leadership, schoolboard members, and community partners. Um importantly, the goal is not simply participation, it's partnership. and students are helping identify problems, elevate perspectives, and contribute to solutions that impact their schools and peers. Um, student this year, students participated in

086three divisionwide summits, um, each designed around a different stage of leadership and civic engagement. Um, in the fall, students focused on leadership development and identifying shared challenges. In the winter, students engaged in conversations around the division budget, legislative advocacy, and priority setting. And in the spring, students participated in school showcases, community dialogues, conversations with legislators, and workshops on student leadership and school policy. Alongside these summits, schools continued their own ongoing student centered work tied to local needs and priorities. As we reflect on the year, we are beginning to see meaningful impact across schools and across the division. Um, we are seeing increased student voice and decision-m, stronger relationships across schools, student informed conversations around priorities and budget, and students becoming more confident in organizing, communicating, and leading. Um, while this work continues to evolve, we

087are seeing students increasingly view themselves as contributors to positive change within their schools. One key area of growth this year was helping students connect their experiences to larger policy conversations. Students explored issues such as mental health and wellness, educator workforce supports, school funding and facilities, and college and career pathways. Through this process, students shared ideas not only with one another and with school leaders, but also directly with state legislators during the spring summit. One especially exciting outcome was an invitation from delegate Amy Lawer for students to continue these conversations in Richmond this fall. Um at this point we'd like to shift to hearing directly from students. Um you will hear from students about the work that they led, the challenges they identified, and how student senate has impacted their schools and their own leadership development.

088I will now turn it over to our students and Miss Roberts. All right, you guys are impressed. >> Awesome. Um, so at the heart of the student senate is the students themselves. Noticing what matters at their schools, listening to their peers, building community, and stepping forward to help move something forward. That is the part of the work that I am most proud of. It is also important to name that this work is possible because the board has made space for it. um not only valuing student voices but by funding student senate and their studentdesigned and studentled projects that support matters. It tells students that their ideas, leadership and problem solving are worth investing in. The presentations you are about to see from Albamaro and Western Alamaro Senates reflect that side of student senate. They show

089what happens when students take a broader invitation to lead and make it real in their own school communities. Tonight, you will hear directly from students who have done exactly that. They have paid attention to what their peers are experiencing, thought carefully about what could be better, and step forward to help shape their schools. That is the purpose of student senate. not just to give students a seat in the room, but to support them in using their voice with thoughtfulness, courage, and care. It is my pleasure to introduce our student presenters. Um, up first we have Maxwell Keys and Amy Wang from Admiral High School, who will be followed by Claire Curry from Western Albamaral High School. Patriots, you are up. Uh, how do I hit? Oh, sorry. I don't know how to hit present. Do

090you know how to hit present? >> Where is >> You guys are Oh, there you go. Thank you. All right. Okay, it's all yours. >> Okay. >> Good evening, Madame Chair, members of the board. My name is Maxwell Keys. I am a senior at Alm High School. Um, and this has been my second year serving um as a student senate. >> Good evening. My name is Amy Wong. I'm also a senior at Elmo High School and this is also my second year uh serving in student senate. >> Okay. Um so our guiding question for Al High School student senate was how can our student senate help foster a more inclusive and connected school community where every individual in the building feels seen values valued and respected. So through monthly meetings we reviewed and had meaningful

091conversations about our equity policies discussed root causes of discrimination and brainstormed ways to combat the discrimination. We also engaged with peers and staff to gather val valuable information and shared our ideas with our peers and staff. >> Okay. So, who who was in our student senate at our school? Um, so it was about 40 students at our mall high school all from different affinity groups um like Latinx, Black Student Union, um the Muslim Student Alliance, um SCA, our student council. Um so what what were we doing? We we we're a coalition of of a collective body. We there's no other, you know, chance at school like the one we had to come together from all different aspects. Um like we said, we're a monthly meeting. Um and what do we, you know, how how are

092we doing it? We're, you know, reaching across the table and seeing the other perspective of the students. So, like I mentioned, um the different affinity groups represented um at our mall, the GSA, uh YAPIC, um the BSU, Latinx, MSA, um all students coming together um and truly leaning into compassion and understanding and making our school uh definitely more united. Um so for one of our um events we planned at Armoral High School, we were honored to, you know, annually host the Chamba by Dancecapes. Um rooted in rich African heritage, um powerful drumming. You could hear it down the hallways. Um students from all different backgrounds, all these affinity groups, those not in those affinity groups came and participated, danced, drum, had a good time. Um and it, like I said, united our school. Another one,

093we also got to take a field trip to the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center. Um, formerly the first black high school in Charlottesville. Um, so we wanted as the BSU and as student senate, we wanted to highlight certain affinity groups, you know, to help with the understanding. So, taking a mixed diverse group of students to the first black high school and now a heritage center in Charlottesville, we we got to take a tour. We um watched the film Raised by Lorenzo Dickerson and Jordi Joerger. Um, and learned from brilliant minds such as Ivan Orura and Miss Sherry Bryant about the rich and complex history of Charlottesville. um not just at our school but in the surrounding counties as well >> and we were very generously given a fund for student centered to continue with our

094mission and so part of that we dedicated to our upcoming initiative which is stressfree week. So we'll have a couple of activities for our students to participate in to kind of mitigate the stress caused by our couple of weeks of testing. Our proposed initiative for the rest of our funds is purchasing more pocket talk translation devices which is very important and essential to our community as our newcomers program ends. And so currently we have a couple of these in our pre-ouring center and at the front office uh counselors and nurses office I believe but teachers like Miss Barnes have mentioned that she would like to have these in her classroom as well. And so we hope that these funds will go towards purchasing increased numbers of pocket talks that will be available in the library

095and students and teachers will be able to check this out similar to how students currently check out learn laptops. We hope this will support all students at AHS. >> Thank you all so much. I want to say one more thing is that there's no other kind of group you can be a part of that does this inner crossing between schools. we we have been able to get closer to the BSU at at Montichello um and Mocha Wokat at Western, you know, and how we break up our affinity groups truly bring unity to our school community. So, we hope you will continue this on. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. Okay, it's all you. Hello board. Um, my name is Claire Curry. I'm sure you already know me, but today I'm playing double duty.

096Um and I'm going to be um presenting on the few activities and projects that we have um put our energy into this year. Um the main pillar that we have um that we have focused on most importantly is community engagement. So in October we we held our second annual sorry How do I give it? Sorry. >> You can just take the bus. Thank you. Apologies. Um in October we held our second annual trunk or treat um in um with the help of the W leadership classes. Trunk or treat for us has been one of the main ways to engage with our community, specifically with um the families and the children of Cros. Um all the trunks, we had around 30 trunks and around 400 people um show up and those trunks um were held by

097either community partners um school clubs or just a few groups of students who wanted to just enjoy the Halloween season. Um, many trunks were traditional with candy to pass out to kids. Um, we also had some trunks that set up games and various activities. Um, and it just proved to be a really wonderful time for families to come out, have a good time, and really witness the um the warm, comforting nature of student senate. Um, as you can see, we had a lot of cars with um clubs and community partners. Um, and it was truly such a wonderful time. Um, as you can see, we've had um various backdrops and different stations. Um, on the sides we had refreshments with pizza and different drinks. Um, as you can see right here, we had a balloon

098arts backdrop um, with pictures taken by our very wonderful um, school photographer Luke Winters. Um, and this just proved to be the first big event of the year to engage with um, the Was community, the COS community, and to really be um, a wonderful place and a wonderful time to just have a good time because fun is important and connection is important. Um and that's that was one that's one of our main pillars especially for the W student senate. So jumping forward a few months to April um we held our third annual always better together. So, better together first came um to be from the student senate three years ago and it came from the problems that our students saw in the school and specifically students with various cultures um and ethnicities saw that their

099ethnicities and cultures weren't um fully represented within the school and within the school communities. and students senate 3 years ago hit the ground running um and created better together. Um the first event was a pioneer for was hadn't seen um this level of cultural respect and identification for a long time. Um, and this served as really the trailblazer to get us back into that um, mindspace and that motiv that motivation to um, to be better and to recognize um, the various aspects within our school that maybe aren't as present as they should be, but to still give them that recognition. The first year um, we called our event better together. the second year, even better together. And this year, the third annual year, we we've called it always better together because it's true. We are

100always better together and we are stronger together. And to be together and to have those connections is really one of the strongest forces um a school community and the community of Cros can have. So specifically this year we have followed in the same footsteps but we have improved in so many different aspects. Um we had various um tables from community groups. Again, we had a lot of community nonprofits um come out to support, set up tables with activities, games, information about their nonprofits and their organizations. And to open the store to bring recognition to specifically the community um and the nonprofits there was a beautiful way to bridge the connection between the schools, the cultures um and the outside community um all together and that was really awesome. So to add a little bit of

101extra fun to this event this year, we created these t-shirts. um with a design commissioned by one of our art students. And while this did serve to be our attire for the night, um this also served to be the direct display of how committed we are to keeping everyone together. And I've seen so many of our um Senate representatives um throughout school, even after the event, wearing these t-shirts. And the amount of compliments we've gotten on these is truly incredible. Um, which means they're serving their purpose. Um, those t-shirts are meant to serve as the um, display of who we are, what we represent, and what we hope to continue um, representing in the future. You can ask anyone and one of the main things they will compliment about the event is the food. We

102have so much food every year. um from various COS restaurants and um personal cooks. Um we've gotten so many um types of food from various ethnicities, various cultures. And I know for me, at least in my family, um food really is such a big connector um just in general. And to provide that for the students and faculty and community to feel that connection and to build that connection through food is very special. and has been um for the entirety of the three years we've been doing this. Another very special part about our events is our commitment to bringing music and the arts into this event and our easiest way and most effective way I believe in doing that is getting our student groups um and community partners who are good with music. Um, as you

103can see in this picture, um, in front of you, we have partnered with Henley, our middle school. Um, and they bring their jazz band every year to play and play a few songs for us and to really show what they are about and how they really support our event and what we do. Um, we've had so many student groups over the past few years play music, build that connection. Music is also a wonderful connector of people. Music is a universal language. I fully believe that and our event has proven that especially for the Was community and the um people of Cro. Um this year we invited a UVA dance group, Sherara, I believe. Um and they were incredible. They danced for a solid half an hour, I want to say. It was awesome to watch

104them. And looking around the crowd, everybody was engaged. Everybody was tuning in. They were dancing. And it was such a beautiful thing to see, to really see the connection that's building. And really the purpose of the event in itself is to be that connection for everyone. Um to engage the community, to bring everyone together, to show that the the divide doesn't have to be a divide. We can all be together. and our events have done that successfully along with a few other some of the smaller successes we've had. Um at every countywide meeting we've had a fairly large turnout um with our students. They've been engaged. They participated. They've helped with all activities um and been present really um with the purpose with our schools obviously within the WA student senate but really together with

105the entire the entirety of the ACPS student senate they have been present and they have done that we have also persisted and unified during political division um was had a um difficult time with very two divided political um stances and student senate made that one of our goals to unify and to keep everyone together and realize that politics really isn't a really isn't the main reason we need to be divided. We can be together. We can be strong and that's what matters. and we acknowledged some simple simpler schoolwide issues um that we could address in our monthly meetings um just together um with the W admin um so we could snuff those issues while we could and that was our year we had a great year I'm really happy and proud of our students in

106it for the work we have put in our events have been successful and we hope to um continue that success in the is coming. Thank you. And I want to thank our students for presenting this evening. Um sharing your leadership and your perspectives. Um just thank you so much. Um, as we step back from the individual projects and experiences, um, this work matters because it is helping ACPS build a more authentic culture of student partnership. Um, student senate helps us hear more consistently from our students. Um, strengthening belonging and connection, build student confidence and leadership, and connect student voice to school and division level decisions. Um ultimately this work is helping students see themselves not as just recipients of the systems but as people who can shape and improve them. Um at the end of

107the year um students shared consistent well I need to get back to our slideshow. Okay. Uh, let's see. That's right. >> You had the right one. >> I had the right one. >> Ah, I did have the right one. >> Ah, here we are. Ah, okay. All right. So at the end of the year uh students shared consistent themes about both the value and future direction of student senate. Um students most valued connecting with their peers across schools, hearing different perspectives and engaging in meaningful conversations with leaders and guest speakers. Um students also challenged us to continue uh growing this work. They want the student senate to become more organized, more actionoriented and more connected to real change in schools. And the issues student most uh consistently elevated were school safety and climate, belonging and

108mental health and identity based harm and student well-being. Um and these themes give us strong direction for next year's work. Each year students complete a self assessment connected to leadership efficacy and confidence. Um this year we saw sustained growth across most leadership domains. Um students reported feeling more confident in organizing peers, planning events, building student involvement, and leading efforts to improve their schools. Um, one of the strongest gains was students confidence in organizing others around school and community issues. Um, at the same time, students identified areas where we can continue to grow, particularly around uh research and inquiry skills and helping students identify and analyze the most prominent issues affecting their communities. Um that feedback will help shape next year's uh support structures. Um as we look at toward next year, our focus is on

109strengthening and refining our work. Um key next steps include continuing our three annual summits. I'm strengthening school level support, improving communication structures, expanding leadership pathways, and continuing to use student feedback to guide priorities and improvements. Um, we see this work as a long-term culture building work and not a one-year initiative. So, we appreciate the opportunity to share this update tonight. And at this point, um, we welcome any questions, reflections, or discussion, um, from the board. And of course, our students are here to answer any questions. >> Just one question for the Almoro High School group. Which staff member got a pie in the face on stress relief week? >> Haven't done it yet. >> Oh, okay. Do you have somebody picked out in mind? Is that coming up next week? >> When when is that?

110>> Next week. Okay, good. >> Let let us know when that is. >> Forward to hearing back on that event. >> I'm just wondering how do uh how do students get involved if they want to be in the student senate going forward? >> Well, um they talked to uh Miss Roberts. they talked to um the current uh student senate uh and expressed their interest. Um we're always looking for students that are eager to serve um in the Senate and we've had some we've had some great students um since we started the student senate and we look forward to having another great group next year. Do >> you want me to give a little bit more? >> Yeah, sure. Great. >> So, at the beginning of every at the beginning of every year, um the amazing

111principles at the high schools have to um put together and ask amazing sponsors, two of whom are here tonight, um to help with the recruiting. So, they go back and they often use um olderassmen as like recruit the next generation. This year in particular, we asked that um they put a particular eye on not just students who are in traditional leadership roles within clubs and organizations, but younger um younger students who are showing great potential or willingness to lead um so that they could develop alongside. So this year we did have a lot of underassmen that were part of it. And so um I know that these these kiddos have been pushing hard for um kids to get involved and and leave a legacy. And I think Max wanted to share a little bit about

112Montichello's student senate. He didn't put together a formal presentation, but that's okay. >> Yeah. So, I don't have any main talking points, so I may stutter a couple times, but you know, that's fine. I just I have a lot of pride in what we've built as a Senate. I love what Al County has put together as a structure, especially with inclusivity. Almorald and Western, they had a great job just describing that. And contrary to the other representatives, this was my very first year on the Senate. So student governance, like prior to this, I didn't even know we had one. In full transparency, in my junior year, I didn't even know we had one. So I would also love to say thank you to our Senate personally because I would not have been able to do

113the job that I did without their help. It was always the like it was always the hey, get the white rice. They got qua for us. It's great, right? They gave me so so many insights what to do, right? And how I can help them grow as well. And I'm really really proud of that. Even just certain events that we did, we did code donations for the refugee community over Christmas and helping eighth graders grow and strive into high school positions. And I just really love that what we've built and I just wanted to highlight that. So, thanks so much. >> Thank you so much. Any other questions? So, I have a just a couple quick questions. One is um Claire, would you let us know next year um when uh the date is for

114the um Halloween chunk trick or chunk? And I I promise we'll do a school board um trick-or-treat. >> Thank you. I can't guarantee that we will be in costume because I can't speak for my fellow board members, but we will. I will I will commit to doing that. Um, the other thing I was just thinking, and this is more of a followup for for Amber and Dr. Kaiser, is just um I was just thinking uh VB, help me Matt, the Virginia School Board Association, and then the N the National School Board Association just put forward just put out their um call for proposals for presentation. So, I'd love to talk to you guys about that. Um, because I think it's I mean, when you guys talk about the inclusivity, I mean, this like as I've

115said this, like I feel better about the future of our world, about our country because I see the work um that the hard work that you all put into relationships and discussions and decisions and tough conversations. Um, so I feel better about the future. Um, and I think it's just important to share what we're doing. So I would love to talk to you offline about about kind of putting together a proposal that we could we could reach out and share this good work with others. So >> as long as we can bring students >> I would exactly I well we have to figure out the legalities of all that but um I agree like it has to like it is authentic student voice so it has to come from students. So thank you so much.

116We so appreciate it. >> Oh yes and I still I'm going to say it one more time. You have to eat your dessert. >> I know. >> That's your that is your last direction from us. So that is our last um piece of school division business. Um and as I mentioned at the beginning of the meeting because of the capstone projects uh certificate ceremony uh retirement um celebration, we did not do a closed meeting at the beginning. So, we intentionally are doing it at the end. Um, and so I do I'm asking if I have a closed meeting motion from the floor. >> Thank you, uh, Chair Berlin. Thank you, everybody. I move that the school board of Almoro County, Virginia go into a closed meeting is authorized by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act

117section 2.2-3711A 2-3711A of the code of Virginia under subsection one which authorizes the discussion, consideration or interviews of prospective candidates for employment and the assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining or resignation of specific public officers, appointees or employees of any public body. The purpose of this item is to review and discuss the appointment the appointment of a principal for Greer Elementary School, the appointment of a candidate for chief technology officer, the selection of student representatives to the school board for the 2026 2027 school year, and the reappointment of licensed staff for the 2026 2020 27 school year. >> Thank you, Mr. Harriet. Do I have a second? Moved by uh Mr. Beard. Uh seconded by Dr. Akoff. All those in favor of moving into close session. >> I I all those opposed. We will

118now move into close session. My estimate just based on the agenda items that we have is about an hour. Um but we will but that's just an estimate. It could be shorter, could be longer. >> Where are we? >> Um I don't know. Um but we will reconvene here to come out of close session. And if there's any announcements, >> Dr. Berwin, I apologize. Um, we also need to add one more piece to the closed meeting motion. Um, and doc or Mr. Black will quickly phrase I'm I'm just looking behind me with my eyes in the back of my head. This is for uh architect selection. So, >> that is correct. Do we >> Right. So, um I'll forget which subsection of the Freedom of Information Act authorizes it, but it's the one uh concerning

119contract negotiations and vendor selection. Um, so what we would ask is that we supplement the motion to add that item to the closed meeting agenda. >> Would you like us to read? >> Um, if somebody could just uh make a motion to supplement the motion that's already been that's already passed. >> I move we supplement the closed meeting motion to include architecture uh and design work per the code. >> Second. uh amendment noted by uh Dr. Akov, seconded by Mr. Dillanbeck. All those in favor? >> Any opposed? >> We will now move into closed meeting in room >> 235. 235 >> room 235 >> and then we will reconvene here um to close it out >> to close out the meeting in about an hour. What did I do with Okay. >> Okie dokie. >>

120Where's everybody? What happened? >> Should I not say? >> Oops. >> I broke my microphone. >> Good evening, everyone. Do I have a motion coming out of close session? Thank you, Chair Berlin. I move that the board certify by recorded vote that to at the best of each board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorized authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting. >> Second moved by Mr. Beard, second by Dr. Akoff. All those in favor? >> I. Do we need to do individual vote on that? >> No, you might. >> I don't think so. Um, uh, do I have any motions coming out of close session? >> Yes, >> I

121have one. >> Oh, sorry. Um, I'll move that we appoint candidate A to the position of chief technology officer for ACPS. >> Do I have a second for that motion? >> A second. >> Moved by Miss Osborne, second by Mr. Dillanbeck. Do we need to do a voice a voice vote for any of these? >> Okay. Just want to make sure. Um, all those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> That motion passes. Do I have any other motions coming out of close session? >> Yes, Chair Berlin. I move to direct staff to enter negotiations for the selection of the architect for the Northern Feeder Pattern Elementary School in the order discussed during the closed meeting. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. Moved by Dr. Akoff, seconded by Mr. Dillanbeck. All those

122in favor? >> I I >> I. >> That motion clearly passes. Um, do I have another motion? >> Yes, Chair Berlin. I have a motion. I move that we approve the list of licensed staff for the 2627 school year. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Moved by Mr. Dillanach, second by Mr. Beard. All those in favor? >> I I. Any opposed? >> That motion clearly passes. Um I am going to do the last motion. Um I move um that we appoint candidate A for the principal ship of Greer Elementary School. >> Second. >> Moved by myself, seconded by Dr. Akoff. All those in favor? >> Any opposed? That motion clearly passes. Um I just wanted to share just a piece of uh a note of information about that. Um the school board

123uh just reviewed the candidates's information and the recommendation and we are extremely excited about this candidate. Uh we feel like they have the background needed um for this uh for Greer Elementary School. um as we have been listening to the feedback and what um teachers and and staff and family has have been telling us is needed and we feel like their background will meet that. Um unfortunately because of the confidential nature of a a hiring decision um and the fact that that person needs to tell their employer um we are not able to disclose the name at this point um but we hope to be able to share that information as early um as Monday. Thank you so much. Do I have any other pieces of business in front of me? Looking to my left

124and to my right. Get us out of time. >> I now uh adjourn our meeting at I apologize for 10:00. Thank you so much.