001Good afternoon. My name is Kathleen Brown, chair of the Virginia Beach School Board, and I call this administrative, informal, and workshop session to order. Madame Clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. Present in the schoolboard chamber are Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Kalen, Mr. Cummings, Miss Felton, Dr. Green, Miss Melnik, and attending via Zoom is Miss Rogers. And Miss Rogers, for the record, can you state why you're attending via Zoom? I am ill today. Thank you. Thank you. Uh we are on schoolboard administrative matters and reports. I have signup sheets for the April onetoone meetings with the superintendent and school visits with the superintendent I'm going to be passing around. Um, also I had talked to Dr. Robertson, I believe yesterday, um, or the day before, and I just wanted
002to bring this up to the board. Um, there has been multiple schoolboard members that have indicated that they may not be able to attend this upcoming um, schoolboard retreat and I just wanted to bring that up to the board to see if there was any alternative dates that the board would like to consider. And, you know, if not, of course, we'll move forward. I don't want it to still have the same amount of people that cannot attend. But Dr. Robertson, yes. Um, I suggested that uh the board could consider June 23rd and June 24th. June 23rd is already a scheduled board meeting and we could keep that date as a regular school school board meeting date and use the 24th as um day one of the retreat. Uh or we could use June 23rd is
003day one of the retreat and June 24th is day two of the retreat. Um if the board wanted to keep since we do need to have a meeting in July uh because of uh administrative recommendations, there would be the ability if the board wanted to do the retreat over two days spread out by two weeks. You could have a a retreat day on the tw June 24th as a standalone retreat day and a retreat day with an a bridge meeting on Jan on July 14th as scheduled uh when it seems that eight members will be present out of 11. So you have options. We can't go we can't push the retreat past July 14 or 15 because the administrative conference is the next week and if you move it forward a week that's the 4th
004of July week that uh you traditionally have tried to stay away from. So, I think your options are to take advantage of the dates you already have scheduled, which is June 23rd as a board meeting date, and you could have June 24th as a as a either the second day of a two-day retreat or the first day of a retreat, and then you finish it out July 14th. Okay. And um you know I'll be here either way so I don't have any strong feelings one way or another but um my preference is to have as many board members um here so that those retreats are um most productive. So um I don't know if board members have any thoughts if you want to share those with me and we can you know have more conversation
005at our next board meeting um or if you want to share those now. Um, do any board members have any thoughts about that or want to think on it? Okay. All right. I'm open to the idea of the week. Dr. Robertson indicated that that you want to turn your microphone on, please. Well, if you insist. Uh, I'm open to the idea and I'm open to discussing it. uh the 14th and the 15th of July. I have a conflict and so I was one of the groups that wasn't going to be able to be here but I'm open to the possibility of doing it the week before which is Monday the 6th of July and I don't know whether or not spills into others but the middle of that week the 8th and the 9th would
006work for me so I just offered that as a thought and I know that's the 4th of July week so that might be a little the week after. Oh it is okay. Fourth of July is a Saturday. So, Don, do you Dr. Robertson, do you have any thoughts about that? I haven't broached that with any other members of the team to see what their availability is, but I could certainly do that. So, I'm just going to ask that maybe, you know, sometime by the end of this week. um if you could maybe get some options together for the board for us to have a conversation about next meeting um to see and you know very well may be that we don't change anything but I just wanted the boards to be aware. Okay, Miss Melnik.
007Yeah, I'm I'm I'm just a little concerned that that's been on the books for a while and that we might have staff who has that have put in for their vacation on those days and that's really kind of very unfair. Um so I don't want anyone else to have to change vacation day. I say as long my opinion is as long as we have a quorum um that we continue with the days that we scheduled um and board members can watch the meetings and get the materials. But I mean it's it's March and I'm assuming that people have put in for vacations. Just my two cents. Madam Chair, Miss Rogers has her hand raised. Thank you, Miss Rogers. Um, I had scheduled vacation based on last year's dates and have already cancelled our plans. So,
008I am available the 14th and 15th because I've changed everything now. And so, I would prefer to not have to change everything again. So, I I am going to ask um Dr. Robertson, if you can at least send that to the board, um, and then we can see where the board lands because we do have a scheduled meeting on the 23rd anyhow. And so, um, of course, I don't want it to, again, I don't want to end up with the same amount of board members and, you know, writing people out of the process, but I did want to bring it up because it had been brought up to me by several board members. All right. Do any other board members have anything to report? No. Oh, Miss Rogers has her hand raised. Miss Rogers. Thank
009you so much. I tried to do this last week, so I wanted to take the opportunity to acknowledge the following recognitions and celebrations within the community for the month of March. In the month of March, the community will recognize the following. Developmental Disabilities Month, which seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still face in connecting to the communities in which they live. Gender equality month, a celebration dedicated to social, political, cultural, and academic achievements of women around the world and raises awareness against gender bias in society. Greek American Heritage Month, which honors the rich culture, history, contributions of over 2.5 million Greek Americans. It coincides with Greek Independence Day, which is on March
01025th, which marks the start of the Greek War of Independence of 1821. Irishamean Heritage Month, which honors the immense contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants to the United States. Proclaimed in 1991, the month coincides with St. Patrick's Day highlighting Irish influence on American culture, history, and society. National Women's History Month, which commemorates and encourages the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. On March 6th, the community recognized employee appreciation day, which is celebrated annually on the first Friday in March to recognize employee contributions and to boost morale and serve as a strategic opportunity to improve engagement, retention, and culture. On March 8th, the world recognized International Women's Day, which is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks the
011call to action to accelerate gender equality. On March 14th, the community and schools recognized Pi Day, which is the celebration of the mathematical constant of pi. It includes activities like eating pie and holding pi recitation competitions, and coincides with the birthday of physicist Albert Einstein. On March 17th, the community recognized St. Patrick's Day, which is a global celebration of Irish culture, heritage, and the patron saint of Ireland. While it originated as a religious feast day in Ireland, it has evolved into a vibrant festival, including parades, social gatherings, and wearing green. On March 20th, the community recognized Eid Ofer, which is one of the most important Islamic celebrations, and marks the end of Ramadan. Families celebrate with gift giving, visiting with relatives, and sharing a large feast. On March 21st, the world recognized World Down Syndrome
012Day, which raises global awareness about Down Syndrome, promotes the rights and inclusion of individuals with Down Syndrome, and celebrates their unique contributions to the community. On March 29th, the community will recognize Palm Sunday, which is a Christian celebration marking the beginning of their Holy Week. The celebration centers around the distribution of palm branches, which were symbols of victory and triumph. And last, on March 31st, the community will recognize International Transgender Day of Visibility, which honors the achievements and resilience of transgender and non-binary people worldwide. It aims to raise awareness of discrimination, combat misinformation, and promote equality. Thank you. All right, we are now on to summer learning opportunities update, and we welcome Dr. Lena Kelly, executive director of elementary teaching and learning. Mr. Thomas Quinn, executive director of secondary teaching and learning. Good afternoon, Chair
013Brown, Vice Chair Williams, school board members, and Dr. Robertson. My name is Lorina Kelly. I'm the executive director of elementary teaching and learning and I'm here this evening with a team of colleagues to provide you with an update of the strategic and intentional summer learning opportunities that Virginia Beach City Public Schools provides for our students. While we will no longer have the support of the all-in funds after June 30th of 2026, summer opportunities will continue to exist for all students in grades preK through 12 that will offer both opportunity for remediation and acceleration of student learning, each intentionally designed to support a strong start for the 2627 school year. We have provided purposeful and strategic opportunities over the last several summers. We know that you have heard us share these experiences and appreciate the chance
014to do it again. This slide lists the opportunities that will be provided. You can see that we've expanded Ready Set Kindergarten and we have enhanced the elementary summer boost opportunities. Throughout this presentation, we will describe each of these in greater detail. I'll give you a moment to review the list. As we've as we have shared in previous summer opportunity presentations, elementary and secondary students registered during the current school year have access to learning opportunities during the summer at no cost. All Virginia Beach City Public School families have access to digital learning opportunities that we refer to as Boost. Families may visit the VBCPS summer school site for more information. On the left, the QR code links elementary families to a video with directions to assist our students with accessing class link. On the right, the
015QR code provides links to programs offered at the middle and high school level. We would like to take a moment to share why this is important to us. Access to Boost is intentional. We want to ensure that every family, each student has access to learning throughout the summer at no cost. We are proud to offer all families learning opportunities that they can select to meet the needs of their students. I will now focus on summer learning opportunities available at the elementary level. As stated on the previous screen, Virginia Beach City Public Schools will continue to offer summer learning boosts for all students preK through 5 who attended school during the 2526 school year. You may recall this optional opportunity from last year. The Boo site has been updated and aligns with the new math and
016language arts standards. This is an asynchronous learning opportunity that includes numeracy and literacy lessons that families can access throughout the months of July and August. As you can see here, family messages are included in English and Spanish. This provides key information to support navigation and completion of the lessons. Students will need a device to log in via class link and select lessons that reinforce targeted skills and concepts from the previous school year and lessons that provide opportunities for a strong start to the next grade level. As you could see from the examples on the slide, while students use a device to access the lessons, the lessons include handson activities, providing students the opportunity to solve math problems, read, draw, and write. In this kindergarten math activity shared on the screen, students use household items to
017count and compare a set of objects using the terms more, fewer, or same. Additionally, you can see from the other kindergarten example, students are encouraged to read, listen to a story, draw pictures to show the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and to use a graphic organizer to draw and write the beginning, middle, and end of another story. This optional opportunity gives families a resource where they can select lessons that meet the need of their learner. This year, we're enhancing opportunities for select students to support engaging in the asynchronous lessons on the boost site. This is the structured boost opportunity. All elementary schools will receive funds to provide at least one facilitator to invite selected families with the engagement and completion of the goo boost lessons. This will include access to technology, weekly emails,
018office hours, and feedbacks that will support students as they explore the asynchronous lessons. Families of students invited to participate will be contacted by their child's school. They will be provided the opportunity to utilize a device if necessary to access the lessons. Families will receive weekly emails crafted to support in the completion of the child's current grade level content to strengthen their skills to prepare them with a strong foundation for the next grade level. The facilitator will provide feedback on completed assignments and will be available to support families with access and students with content. Students will be selected um to attend based on student need. Additionally, we will continue in in-person summer learning camps at select sites, including 10 title one elementary schools and six additional elementary schools for a total of 16 sites. Information specific
019to specific to title one elementary schools will be provided on the next slide. The six other summer learning camps will follow the same 4 and a half hour structure used last year. While we continue continue to center learning on literacy and numeracy instruction, enhanced experiences with increased focus on inquiry and STEM are also included. In addition to the opportunities highlighted throughout the previous slides, we're excited to share initiatives taking place in our Title One elementary schools. Students have the opportunity to participate in a full-day program made possible through a partnership between Title One and United Way. This engaging program is designed to strengthen students literacy and numeracy and science and STEM skill skills through hands-on inquirybased learning experiences that spark curiosity and excitement. Families will be invited to participate in special events that showcase student
020learning and provide practical ideas and materials to help continue the learning at home. This creates a powerful bridge between school and home, ensuring that students stay engaged, supported, and excited about learning all summer long. Additionally, we're excited to share that Ready Set Kindergarten is expanding this summer. This year, the program will be hosted at 8 Title One schools and will take place August 10th through the 13th. This fun and engaging experience is designed to help our youngest learners confidently step into kindergarten, especially those with little to no pre kindergarten experience. Through a warm and welcoming, supportive environment, students will get to meet school staff, take their first school bus ride, learn classroom routines, and begin building relationships with both their teachers and classmates. Families will receive daily communication about their child's experiences and an opportunity
021to ask questions to feel confident and prepared to transition into kindergarten. We will now transition to secondary summer learning opportunities. Our first option is so fasttrack tutoring which remains an optional program to support middle and high school students who must meet the standards of learning verified credit diploma criteria. This program is designed for students who successfully passed their course of study but did not earn a verified credit because they were unsuccessful on their corresponding so assessment. Students engage in tutoring sessions for one week before retaking the so assessment at the conclusion. Fasttrack is also available for financial literacy students who need to earn the wise financial literacy certification. Fasttrack courses are offered throughout the summer school window with start and end dates varying by course. Similar last school similar similar to last summer both middle
022and high school students will be offered a single face toface session beginning July 6th and concluding July 30th. Recall this format increased the number of instructional days from 10 to 15 to provide more support. Face-to-face repeat courses will be provided at the locations indicated on the slide. Students needing two courses will be supported utilizing Imagine Ingenuity, an online platform, and will be scheduled with the support of their school counselors. English as a second language teachers will be assigned to each of these sites to support English learners enrolled in repeat courses. Registration for the face-to-face repeat sessions opens on Monday, May 4th. Parents will continue to utilize the website on the slide, RevTrack, for registration and payment. There is a tiered fee associated with secondary summer school programming which is dependent on students verified free and
023reduced price meal eligibility. The third secondary summer learning opportunity available is for firsttime courses through the Virginia Beach Digital Campus, also known as VBDC. Firsttime courses run from Tuesday, June 16th through Tuesday, August 4th. It is important to note that these courses are fullyear courses and require a lengthier time frame due to the new course content. These courses are asynchronous with teachers of records holding office hours twice per week to provide support and feedback. Teachers monitor student messages and respond on a daily basis. During the summer of 2025, more than 1,900 students completed VBDC courses. To support staff, every high school also has a mentor account to assist with monitoring student progress. Registration for first-time course offerings delivered through VBDC opens on Monday, May 4th. Parents will continue to utilize the website on the slide
024for registration and payment. These off offerings also utilize the tiered fee approach which is dependent on a student's verified free and reduced price meal eligibility. To provide additional support and to strengthen students foundation of learning, step-up offerings will be available in the face-to-face format for rising grades seven and eight students who earned a C or a D as their final grade for the 2526 school year in English or mathematics. It is also available for rising grade six students who earn an overall proficiency score of developing proficiency on select fifth grade math report card standards. Additionally, boost opportunities will again be offered in science and math during the summer of 2026. These are online asynchronous preparation courses designed to help students build the skills and confidence needed for success in classes they plan to take in
025the upcoming school year. Available courses include algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, pre-calculus, earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. There is no registration required for boost, and a link will be provided for students by June 16th to access these opportunities through Canvas, which can be found on our summer school website and is accessible to students through class link. Both step up and boost are opportunities that are offered at no cost. I will now share information specific to stu to summer learning opportunities for students with disabilities. As a reminder, most students with disabilities receive the majority of their special education services in the general education setting. Therefore, many of them will have the opportunity to participate in the general education summer programs offered by the school division and described throughout this presentation. Some students will receive extended
026school year or ESY services. Consideration of ESY services is part of the IEP process. These services are the individualized extension of specific special education and related services pre provided beyond the typical school year. ESY services may be delivered through a variety of settings and methods. In short, it is a continuum of services. It is the IEP team who collectively determines the setting and method based on the individual needs of the students. ESY dates are July 6th through the 30th with elementary student hours running from 8 to 11 and secondary hours from 9 to 12. Communication is key. It is our goal to ensure that all families have information regarding the variety of summer opportunities we provide. Families are encouraged to visit the summer school site on VB schools for a complete list of opportunities. Here
027you can see examples of flyers that will be shared with families highlighting the free boost activities that all families have access to throughout the summer months as well as secondary course offerings. Parents will see information through a variety of um avenues such as parent square, school newsletters, social media, the flyers that you can see on the screen, and counselor meetings. As you can see, Virginia Beach continues to provide robust summer learning offerings that are strategic, intentional, and differentiated. We would like to close by ensuring that our families are aware that all students enrolled in Virginia Beach during the 2526 school year automatically have access to the opportunities that we've provided on the screen and reviewed throughout this presentation. They can use the QR codes to access the information and we encourage all interested parties to
028visit our summer school site for more information. Thank you for your attention and my team and I stand by to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Miss Malnik. So, I always try to write something down that someone says. So, I want to thank you for saying that access to boost is intentional. I really appreciate that. This is something that Virginia Beach does really well as summer school. I think we do everything well, but we are exceptional at summer school opportunities. Um, I also loved this communication is key. um and the different avenues because if it's just on our website it will get lost. So I'm glad to hear that parents will actually get something physical or you know school newsletter. Um so thank you for that. And then my question is, and I
029was really happy to see this, was the title one elementary summer learning opportunities um and that this was a partnership with the United Way. I know that the United Way um couple of their pillars are um directed towards um education and I appreciate that. I think one is um addressing truency and the other is reading, addressing third grade reading. And so I really appreciate that that partnership with the United Way and their interest in um all children and boosting education. So I really appreciate that. Now, was that a partnership that we forged with the United Way or was that a grant that we applied for and received funds? Thanks for asking. It's actually we have continued this partnership. This isn't the first summer that we've been doing this. This is a grant that we apply
030for um and have received for the past three summers. And the focus, as you kind of mentioned, is definitely a focus on early childhood literacy as well as on family engagement. Okay. Was that something that was like out there as a grant we could apply for or did we kind of write something and just submit it? I don't I don't know how that that part works. We had to fill out a application that we wrote and submit it and then they only accepted um certain school divisions and uh it's not just for school divisions, it's also for community partners, but we were selected and provided a very um generous um grant portion for funding and so because they see the benefit of our program. They really do. And of course, we always talk about summer
031slide and so this just makes me really happy. Thank you, Vice Chair Williams. Yes, thank you. I also um noted that you said intentional and focused on needs. So, that's what summer school is all about. um with the special education students with disabilities and I know one of my children took advantage of the um ESY program one or two summers. Can you refresh my memory? Because it's the IEP team that decides um if you would be a good, you know, candidate or student for this program. So, do you have to have call an extra meeting? Cuz say your IEP meeting was in October, then does the team come back when it's closer to the end of the school year just for this purpose? Can you refresh my memory of how we did that? Because I
032did it, but I don't remember how. Sure. It may be that you do have to return. It depends on how it was noted on the IEP when you hel when the meeting was held in October. Sometime it is checked that more data needs to be collected. So if that's checked then you have to come back at the end of the year to continue that discussion. It could be that you met in November, December and the team already had the data to say yes we think this child needs um extended school year services because you know their education progress on their goals will be significantly jeopardized if they don't have that continuation of services. So it just really depends. Okay. And then all the parents, if I remember correctly, it is listed on that IEP and
033all the parents you that conversation is made at the initial IEP meeting, is it not? It it's on the IEP, but a lot of times if it's the initial and depending on what time of year it is, it could be checked that more data needs to be collected, right? But it's at least mentioned that we do have this, you know, because I just want to make sure that parents realize that we do have it that at the IEP table the meeting you say this is available, we need to come back or it's for sure that this will be useful. Okay, great. Okay. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. Um, Miss Rogers does have her hand raised, but it was after Miss Felton. Miss Felton. Thank you, Miss Kelly, for this valuable information. I do appreciate
034it. And again, I'd like to re reiterate what my colleagues has said. The word you use intentional and the way you gave us the information, it sounds like it is uh intentional. So, you did say the website is now active for parents to go on. Okay, great. Uh you said there will be eight title one schools participating. Can you name those schools and how were they chosen? There are eight ready set kindergarten sites. Okay. Did you mention I thought Okay, I can name them too. Okay. So, our eight title one ready set kindergarten sites are Bayside Elementary, College Park Elementary, Diamond Springs Elementary, Green Run, Holland, Linhaven, Parkway, and Point of View. Um, they were selected because they have kindergarten and they're a title one school currently receiving funds. The only program that doesn't have
035one is CATAC because they are achievable dream and they have other summer opportunities for students participating in their program. That's comparable to what we are doing. Achievable Dream. You're saying we collaborate with Achievable Dream and offer different opportunities of ways to help encourage and we do have a partnership with them and I collaborate with them pretty regularly. Thank you so much for reading my brain. Appreciate that. Thank you. Uh I'd like to uh ask about the criteria for the SOL fasttrack tutoring SOS. Um is that open to all students? How is that criteria for that particular session? Much as Dr. ly describe any student who passed the course but did not pass the corresponding so and needs it for the verified credit. So you have credit you pass the course you get the credit but
036you if it's a verified credit you need the so and a passing grade in the course to uh meet graduation requirements. Okay. So so how the students are made aware of this will is that the counselors have conversations with them uh pending score release. So high school because you have term one and term two results uh so available the kids are are given the opportunity to um figure out what's best path. term one probably going to get remediation of the year retest uh somewhere in that May time frame uh and then the students that test in the spring term you know the results come back so quickly uh that it's very easy for the counselor to make them aware hey you you passed the course if you didn't you these your options you know and
037fasttrack is often an option they take you know it's intense tutoring over the course of week and then you retake the uh assessment at the end of the week there's a lot more flexibility at the high school level so so Mr. Quinn, I know you're telling the students. What will the parents know as well? Oh, yes. Yeah, the counselors have a conversation with the parents. They have to have notification as anything. You're under 18. You need parent approval and parents sign off on the agreement that their students can retest. Is it the first time we had this particular fast track? No, this is this predates me and this is year three for me. So, it it's it's been around a minute, I guess. The reason I asked is I wanted to know how is the
038participation with this FastTrack S tutoring. The question was how what is the participation participation is it I can get those numbers for you Mr. Lane I know you've sat in my seat before maybe give a better assessment thank you Miss Woodhouse it's pretty significant but as Mr. Quinn has talked about with the change in schedule, we have many more kids now that can be remediated during the school year and retake that assessment because of the 4x4, but it's a pretty significant number in terms of eligibility. It was a lot more a decade ago than it is today because of uh the remediation we have in place on a variety of levels during the school year. Well, I'll just say obviously it must be if it's a decade ago since you started obviously this is paying
039off for the as far as ESOL's are concerned and I look forward to seeing the measurement of it as well. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Miss Mel, Miss Rogers, thank you. Sorry. Um thank you so much for this presentation. I do first want to thank all of our staff that work so hard in summer school um opportunities. I have registered my own children every year for the past four years and will be registering my youngest this summer for um driving opportunities. So, I do appreciate all of this. I do have a couple of questions um regarding our title one elementary summer learning. We have and just correct me if I'm wrong. So we have the summer learning camp pre-K to fourth grade students and that's title one correct? Yes. And our 10 title one
040schools. Yes. Okay. And then the ready set kindergarten. And then is the other elementary um learning sites the summer learning camps um at select sites is I guess my question is is there any summer programs that we run that parents pay for? Not at the elementary level. Okay. And that's what I wasn't sure of. So we have select sites and are parents just registering for this first come first serve? No, this is based on an invitation. Okay. Because um I know that we also do we not I'm kind of remembering that we ran some like summer camps that were like partnered with someone else and it was like a pay for camp or am I remembering this wrong when my kids were that old? It must have been before I was in this role. Okay.
041Because I guess I I'm hoping that eventually we can expand to more opportunities um outside of Title One. And I don't know if that's something that we're looking at. I love the idea of having partnerships um with other community members and if like that's something that I'm so interested in is having more opportunities um for students. Um, and I know that summer child care is so difficult for parents sometimes, and I've heard people talk about getting their kids into summer camp is almost um like like a war trying to get your kid into a spot. So, it's just something that I've thought about is something that if we can find more partnerships, find more grants to offer more opportunities for students who need the those opportunities. Um, and I love what we're doing so far.
042So amazing job at making this model and hopefully we can just grow at it. Thank you, Miss Monik. I'm sorry to to come back around, but just out of curiosity since we have a minute. Um I accessed the QR code when you were speaking and I wanted to hit there's it goes to a video. What what happens when you hit play because I knew it would turn on my phone and what will I see? You will you will hear okay us describing what parents would what parents and students would do to navigate okay uh using a device to get to class link and see the boost site and it then it takes them kind of through what to do and if they have any difficulty how to access support to get okay that's lovely okay
043thank you um so and I I just wanted to throw in here I appreciate everything you're doing when I um I actually one of my children went to one of our summer opportunities. I don't know that it's in here, but back when summer slide was a a thing, my son participated in summer slide because he was, you know, struggling with reading. And so, um I did get that intentional targeted um invitation to make sure that, you know, the students that need the support the most are getting the support that they need and the resources that they need to succeed. So, I just wanted to, you know, state that um these programs are really great offerings and if your children are invited and you're able to do so, I highly recommend them. Miss Felton, thank you,
044Chair Brown. Uh I'm really looking forward to this program being something great that we are. It sounds great to me. You mentioned transportation for the uh title. Is that just for title the title one schools? And how is the transportation put together? I mean, you have a variety of schools. So, will it meet the need? For any of our in-person summer learning opportunities like the summer learning camps at the six select sites and at the title one sites, transportation is provided. Okay. So, I I hear my colleague, Miss Milick, saying that she hit on the QR code. So, all this going to be in the QR code as well, right? The um QR code, it helps families access those asynchronous lessons. So that is um not the in person but they it takes them to
045the website so that they can see all the summer learning opportunity that are listed up there. So it's a two little bit of a two different things. Okay. Okay. Yes. Any student who's invited for the in person they will have transportation. Absolutely. Thank you so much. That's what Thank you. Gotcha. Appreciate that. Thank you. Is anybody able to access the asynchronous opportunities? Anyone who was enrolled prek through fifth grade for the elementary and then anyone who was enrolled sixth grade through 12th grade for the boost in Canvas. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification. All right. Thank you. You're welcome. Uh we are now on to the schoolboard meetings fourth quarter forecast April, May, June and I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Robertson. Um but everything here is in front of
046you for your review. Um so Dr. Robertson. Yeah. So thank you, Madam Chair. Just as a reminder, this is a really a planning document is the value of the fourth quarter forecast to to the board as well as the chair and vice chair when they uh work with me on setting the agendas for the following weeks. There's a couple of items um that we're likely to see. So, for example, we know we don't we do not have a state budget right now. Um we anticipate having a state budget hopefully by April 23rd. And so we'll have to incorporate uh information and action items uh after April 23 um so the board can uh let us know how we would want to spend any additional funds that we receive. Um there is uh a VSBA success
047and innovation award that that uh we feel strongly about. We'd like to bring forward. So, there's a couple of items that are going to appear on this document as part of agenda planning that you don't see tonight. Uh, but again, this is a planning document that contains probably 95% of the items that are going to be placed before us. Um, we try to always have two workshops uh and then spread out the other items um to balance the meetings. And so this goes through the end of June. Uh and and again note June 23rd is a schoolboard meeting night. Thank you. And I'm I'm happy to um reach out to board members to talk about that recognition. I preer it to be a surprise to the individual. So um but did have a colleague uh
048request that we recognize somebody. So, um, that will also be something that comes up in the future. Um, Vice Chair Williams, um, yes, I I don't see any workforce development. When is the last time that we've had an update on just generally the workforce development or is it on here and I just didn't see it? We have an all-in Virginia update on March on sorry, May the 12th, which very well could include. Okay. Because I I would kind of like to see that either this quarter or coming up soon after because I think it's been a while since we've had that update. But just to keep keep that in mind and we can talk about it at agenda planning. Um and then also on 428, can you kind of give me a sneak preview of
049exactly what that is. Child care and expanded student opportunities. Yeah. So, um for age Yeah. So, as you know that uh there was $500,000 provided in from the state to the uh YMCA to open up child care spots for uh employees in Virginia Beach. And they really want to focus on Virginia Beach schools. And uh Dr. Tropman has had a meeting with uh her uh Yeah. You want to talk? Yeah. This one kind of falls in line with what Mrs. Rogers asked about other programs and opportunities. And so we've been working with Virginia Beach Parks and Recck since 2023 along with the YMCA. And so there have been expanded programs for students, parents at each level. So we want to come before the board and talk about some of those opportunities for for the summer
050and some of those expanded opportunities during the year for everyone in the community to take advantage of. And then some of the special programs that we have um through that partnership would be highlighted as well. So members of Virginia Beach Parks and Red um our human resources department and the YMCA will present that. Okay. So a presentation of of all the opportunities. Yes. All the opportunities. All right. Thank you. Mr. Ken, if I could make a request and I don't know if I direct it to you or to you, but I'll direct it to you and we'll figure it out from here. There's nothing more important to me and I think to most of us than student academic achievement. And if we could on a regular say as much as monthly have some sort of
051a report that gives us a sense throughout the year the various benchmarks that are taking place or the various activities that are taking place that give us a sense from an academic results point of view. how are the students doing and what can we be mindful of in order to be on top of those things in order to forever be emphasizing that that's our greatest goal. So that would just be a request if you will. Thank you. And um you know Dr. Robertson and I have been in conversation um about this and I I appreciate that further explanation because I think that that really helps us. Um so just to make sure Dr. Robertson um the 14th of April um that is achievement data. Yes. Okay. Because I just want to make sure you know
052and I do I do agree that we should be talking about academics as much as possible. um this all in update Virginia update um is that an academic achievement or can academic achievement be it'll be a part of it because um all in Virginia is broken into three distinct areas and one is is around literacy okay and then there's a third one around updating uh the board and this is based upon a request uh how are TSI schools doing you'll see that in May May 26 the workshop on targeted support and improvement Okay. Um and so I I guess on on that theme um I would ask that you know during our agenda planning that we work together to come up with an academic um conversation for you know our our regularly scheduled meetings for
053June so that we can you know make sure that that continues at the forefront that works for you Mr. Ken. Great. Thank you. Appreciate that. All right Mr. Cummings. Yeah thank you chair. And I had a probably a similar question that my colleague also had was uh I'm just looking for an update probably on our strategic plan. I know we talked about it in our retreat. So I don't know if that's a future retreat topic or it's retreat topic. Retreat topic. So I know we talked about um dashboards tracking up you know and some of the metrics on there. I was just looking through it. So if it's on the retreat agenda it's good enough for me. and I made a note of that. So that'll be a retreat. Okay. All right, Miss Melnik. So
054as you're planning Mr. Ken's request, so I'm all about academics. You know, I'm an educator by trade, but I'm trying to figure out how the division is going to update us on academic progress monthly. And so I asked there to be some real thought about I don't want to send a a sense of something to the community like we're here and then in April we're dipping or we're rising and then we get we're do we're here and then we're taking the SOS and it's slightly below. I don't want this to be confusing to the public because we may understand certain things and I would say we're always academic. It's what it's what we do. Um I'm just worried about I don't know how I don't know how you come up with that information on a
055monthly basis. So yeah, so monthly would be a challenge um because data availability at the division level is not going to be available monthly, right? But we've mapped out um with teaching and learning and and school leadership the time periods where major division assessments have been given. And so what we've done at this point is built our calendar around uh when those assessment that when that assessment data is in that we can bring to the board to have a conversation. I don't think it would be appropriate and and this would be part of budget discussions during agenda planning. I don't think it would be appropriate to bring in um a a selection of of data from various schools that don't have a division tie. So we would look to those periods where we have benchmark
056assessments, we have so tests that are in the in the fall, etc. when that data is available. One of the questions that uh Mr. Cummings just mentioned about the strategic action agenda or I'm sorry the strategic plan. a lot of that data is not going to be available till June. So, we wouldn't be able to come to you before July anyway. So, we'll do the very best we can to select the time periods and I think we have that here with April, May, and April and May. Um, yeah, that part is fair, but you mentioned monthly and so I'm trying to think. And then when we talk when we talk about test scores, data, when we we do all of that, we break that all out also into subgroups. And is that something that's going
057to happen when you do this or are you going to try to generalize an overall feeling of so we have not um broken data out into subgroups as part of the presentation but we have the data broken down by subgroups and we'll identify areas where we have um to provide additional supports. Yeah. Madame Chair, um, Miss Rogers has her hand raised. It was after Dr. Green, but before Vice Chair Milnik. Okay. Thank you. Um, and and I just want to say I I do I want to reiterate I do fully support, you know, an academic focus and I I think we can probably, you know, do so about our offerings and what we're doing and where we're working without um necessarily ongoing data presentations when data isn't available. But I I do think that there
058is room to continue to work on that and um continuously evaluate um educational topics. Dr. Green, thank you. Um I mine is more of a comment. I just want I know my colleagues to to also remember that every time we have staff that stands before us to do a presentation, it is all related to student progress or or achievement. And many times there are um data charts that show progress or or where we need refinement. And that's a lot of times the primary, you know, purpose um of what we do at 4:00 as well as when Dr. Banicki gives us uh division updates as well. And I think we need to be very cautious about putting out data because it it I believe that and this is my opinion only that it's very important that
059we align it with releases from the Virginia Department of Ed because if we have uh data that's not in sync that's going to create other questions and and maybe make it a little bit more difficult for us to stay on top of making sure that we are seeing the progress that we want to see. But every time I know for me I I see where it's relevant and and the progress that's being made um as well with our student with the presentations that staff uh do. Miss Rogers, thank you. I kind of want to make a comment that sort of echoes Dr. Greens but from a different perspective. We have to remember that the data that's being collected is on students and they're in the middle of learning. So I don't think it's fair if
060we have students who are in the middle of learning who are making mistakes and learning to correct them that we're then expecting that data every month or whatever when they have the opportunity to perhaps correct their mistakes. And so I want to caution against asking for too much data on these children who are still in the process of learning. And so this is where we have to kind of temper our expectations with the with the idea that so we want to have our students in an environment where it's safe to learn. It's safe to make a mistake. It's safe to correct that mistake and then at the end they come out with the grade that they need to have. But we're not asking to see every mistake that they've made. And so I just wanted
061to make that comment. Vice Chair Williams, I I guess it's I'm hearing something completely different from my colleagueu's request. I am not hearing that every two or three weeks we've got to go out and get data and then Dr. You know, Robertson has to bring it back and we analyze it and then two weeks later we get data on the same thing to see if we improve. I I don't think that's what my colleague is is asking. What I think is I and I agree. I want to talk about academics and see academic progress. Um see academic movement, see where we're going, what we've done with this program or what and we've already we've already got that here. So for so for folks that say we can't do it monthly, well here we've got two
062already in April, achievement data and finishing strong and allin Virginia which is going to have literacy. There's two in April right there. Um the targeting support and improvement TSI update, that's another one in May. Um workforce development data about how our programs are doing. I mean that's that's academic progress in the workforce development field. So I I don't expect us to every two weeks or every four weeks to have data and then the next four weeks have the same data to see exactly how many points someone, you know, improved. I want to see a academic conversations like what what you already have here Dr. Robertson and then maybe we can add one. We don't have one in J in in June. Um that's why I kind of suggested suggested workforce development but I think right
063here we've got one like I said April 14th, April 28th and May 26th already already on. Thanks. So uh we do have two more board members. um in line on this and um I mine just a statement. Yeah. Um I I know and and I I appreciate that. I'm going to let everybody speak, but I just I I just want to make sure this is just a request and and I think that every board member has a right to a request. So, um if people could please consider that in their comments. Thank you, Miss Velnick. Um, I would just like to state for the record that a great way to keep up with all of this is the re-implementation of the equity dashboard. And that is something we really need to consider because a lot
064of information was was uh that was a that was that was some good information and that that that served a real purpose. And with that piece gone, um, it was a it was a it was a good look and a good snapshot and that's gone now. And I think that's one of the casualties of something that was changed last year. Mr. Cummings. Yeah, I think this is a a fantastic discussion and I I actually I think it'd be a a good maybe retreat topic to have down the road is you know what is the expectations of the the data that we'd like to have you know when I think about data I think about company health you know and I think that's a a a good conversation to have like what's our health metrics you
065know I tend to think of like red light green light yellow light you know green light meaning everything's good yellow's caution red light means But um you know I think it's a worthwhile discussion be and you know coming up with here's our true north. Are we on target to our true north? And and so I appreciate my colleagues request and I I feel like it would be a a nice retreatbased question to understand what do we have that's readily available that we can have a regular cadence to you know receiving ports. What would be considered a pain to pull on a regular basis? Um and you know create a reasonable you know meet meet a reasonable question with what's reasonable reasonably available with un with you know not making it too much you know I
066guess extra work and extra pain but being able to satisfy that request. I think it's it's a good question and so I think maybe if we just chuck it into the retreat. I'm a great defer of of the conversation just so you know. Hey, I I I like y'all. You know, it's we get together, we get our donuts, we get our lunch. It's a good time. Donuts. All right. Vice Chair Williams is going to read us into close session. I move that the school board recess into close session in accordance with exceptions to open meetings law set forth by code of Virginia 2.2-3711 parts A paragraph 7819 as amended to deliberate on the following matters. Seven, consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation where such
067consultation or briefing in open meetings would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of this body. For the purposes of this subdivision, probable litigation means litigation that has been specifically threatened or on which the public body or its legal council has a reasonable basis to believe will be commenced by or against a known party. Nothing in this subdivision should be construed to permit the closure of a meeting merely because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance or is consulted on the matter. A consultation with legal counsel employee or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel. Nothing in this subdivision should be construed to permit the closure of meeting merely because an attorney representing the public body is in attendance in attendance or
068is consulted on a matter. 19. discussion of plans to protect public safety as it relates to terrorist activity or specific cyber security threats or vulnerabilities and briefings by staff members, legal counsel, or law enforcement or emergency service officials concerning actions taken to respond to such matters or related threat to public safety. Discussion of information subject to the exclusion in subdivision 2 or 14 of 2.2-3705.2 Two, where discussion in an open meeting would jeopardize the safety of any person or the security of any facility, building, structure, information technology system, or software program or discussion of reports or plans related to the security of any governmental facility, building or structure or the safety of persons using such facility, building or structures, namely to discuss a safety pro protocols for April events. B status of pending litigation or
069administrative cases. C. Consultation with legal counsel regarding probable litigation and pending litigation matters. Okay. Is there a second? Oh, okay. Yours is me, right? Yeah. The motion was made by Vice Chair Williams. Okay. And then we need a second. All right. Motion made by Vice Chair Williams, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to go into close session. And Miss W means, how do you vote? Okay. So, Madam Chair, we have eight eyes. The motion did pass to go into close session. Thank you. Whereas the school board of the city of Virginia Beach has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and whereas section 2.2-3712D 2-3712D of the
070code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now therefore, be it resolved that the school board of the city of Virginia Beach hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the closed meeting to which the certification applies and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered. Motion made by Miss Melnik, seconded by Mr. Cummings. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to certify close session. So, Madam Chair, we have eight eyes. The motion to pass for certification of close session. Okay. It is 5:32 p.m. and we are
071adjourned and we'll reconvene at 6 p.m. So,