001Hey. Good evening. My name is Kathleen Brown, chair of the Virginia Beach School Board, and I call this meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. Madame Clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. Present in the schoolboard chamber are Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Bowensteel, Mr. Ken, Miss Felton, Dr. Green, Miss Melnik, and Miss Rogers. And currently online is Mr. Cummings. And Mr. Cummies, for the record, can you please tell us why you were zooming in? Yeah, I'm here cuz I'm online cuz I'm sick. Thank you. And Miss Dwire is also in the schoolboard chamber. Thank you. Um, please join me as you are able for a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance. After the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem will be sung by Cook Elementary School fifth
002grade chorus. Their chorus director is Apollo Simon. We'll do our moment of silent once they enter. Okay, please join me in the moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Oh, say can you see by the dawn early what so proudly we held at the twilight last stripes and bright stars Through the barrel fly for the ramparts we watch for some gallantly stream and the rockets red. The bombs bursting in air came through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, save us as our singful way. Excellent. Oh, that was beautiful. Thank you, Cook. All right, now is our favorite time, a chance to recognize some of our
003outstanding students tonight. Our first recognition this evening is for the Mr. Can you just Can you just wait just one second while we Yeah. Oh, if you insist. Thank you. We want to make sure everyone can hear this. Yes, we're transitioning. Thank you. That's all right. We'll rewind the tape and start again. Our first recognition this evening is for the Virginia High School League's field hockey state champions. Please welcome the Falcons of Cox High School. On November 15th, the Falcons captured the 2025 Virginia State Championship title with a 200 victory over First Colonial, closing out an extraordinary season in which they outscored their opponents 120- 17 and finished with an impressive 19 and4 record. The team members are as follows. Aba Amuyo, Junior Captain, and if I pronounced that incorrectly, please forgive me. Adalie Booth,
004Lee Daves, Marlo Durr, Anna Gellwick, Isabelle Glenn, Norah Hines, Cassette Lee, Michaela Quinn, Lily Shrot, Lauren Templeton, Isabella Terry, junior captain, Sammy Terry, sophomore goalkeeper, Campbell Wright, Pa Paige Wittmann. The team is coached by Taylor Roundtree, Alex Brewer, David Han, and this championship marks the 25th state title for the Coxfield hockey program. Ladies, absolutely. Continuing a legacy of excellence, determination, and Falcon pride set in motion by Mrs. Emily Tilly in 1977 as the school's first field hockey coach. Congratulations teams. We are proud of you. I'm sure. Yeah. Okay, we are now on to the adoption of the agenda. Um, I do have one slight modification that doesn't change the meeting. um an achievable dream academy is here and they have to travel back to the peninsula and so I am just going to ask that
005we move C 13C and do that in place of 13A and then so it would be A is an achievable dream academy comprehensive evaluation 13B is policy review committee recommendations and C is compass to 23 30 key navigational markers. That way they can get back before that bridge ices over. Um are there any other modifications to the agenda as presented? Vice Chair Williams. Um yes. Um chair and colleagues, I would like to ask um that we pull policy 529 awards for achievement class rank honor designations. I've talked to my two colleagues on PRC as well as staff and because of the new information that we did not have available at our PRC meeting, I would like to pull that and take it back to PRC. Also, one of our PRC members has requested policy 540
006studentled assemblies to also be pulled for um further review. So, I would ask that we take off two and three from information. Okay. And are there any objections to that? Okay. Um, so since there's no objections, we won't vote on it. So I call for the motion um to approve the agenda as presented and modified. Motioned by Dr. Green, seconded by Miss Dwire. Any further discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to adopt the agenda as presented and modified. And Mr. Cummings, have you vote for the agenda as presented and modified? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 10 eyes. The motion did pass for the adoption of the agenda as presented and modified. Thank you. Um I do want to take a a quick um liberty here um before we move on. Um
007I almost forgot, but policy 5-29 directly correlates to what people are doing um and students are doing right now as they're applying for colleges. and I just wanted to read what we're going to be doing as it relates to policy 529 to make sure that we're complying with it as adopted. Um there is some question about code and whether or not we're following code or not um to the tea, but the fact remains that it is the duty of the administration to adhere to the language found in schoolboard policy. If there was confusion about the intent of the change to policy, administration should have brought this to the PRC. Moving forward and until the school board wishes to revisit this issue, we will be implementing policy 529 as written and for the community that's related
008to class rank. This means that one class rank will be removed from all transcripts and two class rank will be calculated upon request and provided to the requester but it cannot be added to the transcript. Um and so if the PRC has any concerns with that, that will be discussed at a future PRC meeting. And so I just wanted to make sure that our our students again um have the information that they need here as they move forward through this application process. We are now on to the Oh, Dr. Robertson, do you have any reports tonight? Uh no, Madam Chair. No. Okay. Thank you. We are now on to the approval of meeting minutes. There are two sets of meeting minutes. First are the November 18th, 2025 special schoolboard meeting minutes. Are there any modifications
009to those minutes as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to approve the November 18th special schoolboard meeting minutes as presented. Moved by Miss Dwire, seconded by Mr. Callen. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the November 18th meeting minutes. And Mr. Cummings, how do you vote on the November 18th meeting minutes? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 10 eyes. The motion did pass for the approval of the meeting minutes from November 18th. Thank you. We are now on to the November 25th, 2025 regular schoolboard meeting minutes. Are there any modification to those meeting minutes as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to pro approve the November 25th meeting minutes. Moved by Miss Dwire, seconded by Mr. Ken. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote
010to approve those November 25th meeting minutes. And Mr. Cummings, how do you vote for the November 25th meeting minutes? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 10 eyes. The motion to pass for the approval of the November 25th meeting minutes. Thank you. So, we are now on to the public hearing and public comments portion of the agenda. The public hearing on the fiscal year 2027 2627 school operating budget fiscal year 2026 27 through 203132 capital improvement program as well as public comments on matters relevant to prek through public education in Virginia Beach and the business of the school board and the school division from citizens and delegations who signed up with the schoolboard clerk prior to noon today. The purpose for the public comment section is for the school board to offer an orderly form
011to receive public comments during the schoolboard meeting. I call upon all speakers and all persons in the chamber to be civil in discussion and decorum. Whatever views you wish to express, the school board wants to hear from you and ensure that all viewpoints and perspectives are heard. The best way to do this is for all of us to strive for civility and respect. Madame clerk, would you please announce the first speaker? Thank you, Madam Chair. Before I announce the first speaker, I want to let you know that speaker number four, speaker number nine, and our online speaker all had to cancel this evening. So we will start with our public hearing and Heather Cyping, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, members of the school board, and Dr. Robertson. My name is Heather Cip and I am
012the president of the Virginia Beach Education Association. I'm here this evening to speak on the fiscal year 202526 operating budget. In developing the upcoming budget, the school board and division leadership need to prioritize people over programs. The myriad of phenomenal programs VBCPS offers for students depend on the personnel. This means ensuring all areas are properly staffed and the staff are compensated in a competitive manner with a focus on retention of our staff and recruitment of highly qualified candidates. Steps 0 through 14 on the unified scale need to be shifted to a 1.5% step to align with the step increases for 15 plus and the entire instructional scale. And in general, compensation for support professionals is in desperate need of attention. Did you know the majority of EBCPS bus drivers, bus assistants, and cafeteria assistants are
013not even considered full-time? Add that into wages that are lower than other divisions or a comparable position where somewhere else it's no wonder why these staff members have to work two to three jobs. And it also gives some good insight onto why certain positions are hard to staff and or have high turnover rates. We cannot control new mandates, but we can pause new initiatives that come with a price tag beyond what the division can secure in grants or other additional funding awarded. We cannot control inflation, but we can prioritize raises that offset cost of living increases and not sucker punching staff with heavy insurance premium increases. Do what's right for your staff. Prioritize your people. We'll now move on to our public comments. Our first speakers will be uh Cody Connor, Kim Mayo, and then
014Francis St. Clair Granger. Good evening. Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. I'm reminded of Dr. Dr. King's words tonight because somewhere I read um in the agenda for today's meeting a policy change that threatens to remove that right from our students. I know you've taken the policy back to review committee and you should leave it there. Um I don't think our children should be taught that they need permission and approval to exercise their rights. The current policy reads, "Along with guaranteeing citizens the fre the right to freedom of speech, the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States also guarantees
015the right to assemble peacefully. Time should be made available for orderly and peaceful student assemblies." The proposed changes erase all of that language without currently a solid plan for replacing it. It replaces what is an affirmation and an acknowledgement of constitutionally protected rights with an application process, approval requirements, content standards. students will still have the right to assemble as long as they have your permission and your approval about what they're going to say. Honestly, I think you're scared. I think you're scared that these kids are going to figure out all that you're trying to take from them and want to do something about it. And I think you're trying to make that as hard as possible for them. I know you're going to end up passing the policy because you have the numbers. Once again,
016my words will have fallen on deaf ears. But I will continue to speak. I'll continue my protest. Because while you continue to teach our kids to conform and submit, I will continue to teach my children that they are worth fighting for. And anyone else that's watching, that their rights are worth fighting for, that they don't need permission from anyone to be themselves or to stand up for themselves. I will continue to teach them that no matter how many times we may fail to stop injustice, we must never fail to stand up to it, make good decisions. Our next speaker is Kim Mayo, then Francis St. Clair Granger, and then Milton MacGyver. Good evening. At your September workshop, it was revealed ODS gets extensive languages not offered to sixth graders at neighborhood schools. ODS gets French,
017Spanish, even Latin, five days per week, 50 minutes per day. Neighborhood middle schools do not offer high school credit language electives to sixth graders like this. Virginia Beach Middle School's short change gifted learners. How are students at IMS, Great Neck, Landsdown, Bayside, or Brandon, or any other middle school less deserving or capable of mastering a language? Teachers and parents believe in our children. High expectations bring higher results. I'm bilingual and it's a blessing. I grew up with relatives in Mass, New Hampshire. I'm of Scottish, Canadian, and Italian ancestry. I was exposed to French in Canada at a young age and years later spent a year in France. My school system gave everyone opportunity for advancement. Being bilingual is the reason I got hired by a dotcom company which paid for my grad school at Boston
018University after I graduated. Virginia Wesian ODS students are much better set up for success. It offends me my own child of the American Revolution and her talented peers can't take appropriate world languages once they reach sixth grade in our government schools. ODS is over 12 million each year to run versus only around 1 million for each high school academy. Unlike Renaissance Academy, it does not benefit those who don't attend. Why are we giving disproportionate tax dollars to one school instead of paying teachers well or other uses? I commend Mrs. Brown and Williams for rejecting the five-year gifted plan. Dr. Green and Miss Rogers have also shown fresh ideas and leadership. Two current schoolboard members unfortunately rubber stamped the five-year plan. They stubbornly tried to protect an old broken model in school admin you're supposed to
019supervise. Other communities have successfully disbanded gifted schools. There is no evidence lower test scores or academic outcomes were the result. I've seen the power of our local media exposing education and civic matters of great interest. They've also uncovered ongoing controversy on ODS to include lawsuits, admissions issues, and even the arrest of their principal. Let's lean on all who can help us make positive change. Merry Christmas. Our next speaker is Francis St. Clair Granger, Milton MacGyver, and then Diane Musk. Good evening, Dr. Robertson and his administration currently allow activity sponsors to do whatever they want. VBCPS administration state as a matter of policy that activity sponsors in DBCPS may do whatever they want with respect to such things as officer elections and scholarship participation. That's right, whatever they want. Let me tell you what that looks
020like to students and parents. Activity sponsors currently openly campaign for and against student candidates for activity leadership offices. Sponsors may use their position of authority to motivate elections along lines they themselves personally desire because they can do whatever they want. Also, activity sponsors vote in student leadership elections artificially helping who they desire to lead their school activity. Sponsors vote in student elections because they can do whatever they want. Activity sponsors can even allow students themselves to announce cuts to competitive teams while spreading gossip about the children being cut. Imagine adults surrendering supervisory responsibilities and gossiping among teenagers. But of course, Dr. Robertson and BBCPS allow sponsors to do whatever they want. Dr. Robertson's administration and BBCPS staff have taken the whatever they want policy even to the awarding of rights to compete for thousands of
021dollars in scholarships to whomever activity sponsors favor. Sponsors use no rubric, no documented procedure, no application completion, no competitive records, no anything to choose who may compete for scholarship money. Sponsors do this because they can do whatever they want. It really must be nice to do whatever you want and award thousands of dollars in scholarship on a whim. I plead with this school board to codify and create actual policy to eradicate the whatever they want procedures used by VBCPS activity sponsors. Students should lead their own elections without outside interference. Students should vote for Google form ballots or some other digital format that creates a digital footprint verifiable by any party that wishes to see actual results. Additionally, where scholarship money exists, a formal documented procedural application should exist that plainly exhibits for all to see
022rankings and performance records. It will keep everything above board professional and absent of bias in any sort. Heck, even a ball player has a batting average that supports his place in a lineup. Why wouldn't activity sponsors want the same thing? Why wouldn't VBCPS administration unless of course just like the employee healthc care switcheroo VBCPS administration just prefers doing whatever they want? Thank you. Merry Christmas. Our next speaker is Milton MacGyver. Then Diane Muscoach, then Heather Cip. Milton MacGyver, Diane Musk, then Heather Cypsa Lucen. Good evening. The National School Chaplain Association plays a quiet but powerful and positive role in public schools. It equips schools with trained chaplain to foster student well-being, resilience, and supportive school culture. And at its core, the National School Chapency Association offers a framework for emotional, spiritual, and moral support to
023students, regardless of their background or beliefs. In increasingly complex times, many young people come to school carrying burdens beyond homework. The association's presence offers a safe place where students can find someone to listen, to care, and to guide without judgment. That kind of support can make the difference between a student feeling lost or feeling seen. Importantly, the services are inclusive. Chaplain are not there to preach. They are there to support. They honor diversity and respect the beliefs of every student. That ensures the support remains accessible, respectful, and appropriate for a pluralistic school community. Beyond one-on-one care, the National School Chapency Association helps foster a sense of belonging and community through mentoring, peerroup programs, or general pastoral care. Chaplain can help build trust and cohesion among students. These relationships can enhance the school's environment, helping to
024reduce bullying, improve student well-being, foster kindness, and encourage mutual respect. Chapency also provides a resource for crisis times when a student uh is dealing with trauma, loss, or serious emotional stress. Having a trained, approachable chaplain can be a critical safety net for students who might otherwise feel they have nowhere to turn. Whether it's grief counseling, family issues, or mental health outreach, chaplain add an additional layer of support beyond teachers and counselors. If something raises a flag, certified chaplain know the proper procedure to advise authorities. Schools partnering with the National School Chaplain's Association benefit not just the students but the broader school community. The it benefits the staff, families, and ultimately the culture of the school itself. When students feel supported, safe and respected, they are more likely to engage, learn, and grow. When when staff
025see students thriving, the school climate improves, morale rises, and education in its fullest sense becomes possible. In conclusion, the National School Chapency Association brings to public schools more than just spiritual care. It brings compassion, respect, and community. For many students, the chaplain might be the difference between feeling alone and feeling cared for. Every child is our shared responsibility. So, let's work together and change the hearts of people starting at a young age such as kindergarten. You can find more information about the association at national school chaplain association.org. Have a merry Christmas. Our next speaker is Heather Cypsa Lucen. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, members of school board, and Dr. Robertson. My name is still Heather Cyp, and I am president of the Virginia Beach Education Association. I'm here this evening to speak on
026policy 5-29, specifically the class rank component. I'm happy to hear you guys are pulling that back to PRC for a more indepth look at exactly what that means for our students. This has been a topic brought to the school board multiple times in the past and the general leanings of past boards was to eliminate class rank as it adversely affects so many students in so many ways. Not all students have access to academy programs with weighted credit or they attend a school that does not have enough interest to offer the same number of dual enrollment or advanced placement classes as another. are taking it back to middle school where students in some schools have more access based on overall interest and availability to high school credit courses which in turns increases their GPA, increases their
027chances for a higher class rank. It also causes students to make tough choices between an elective course in an area they are passionate about and a weighted course. Let's also consider the student who wants to stretch and take an advanced placement or dual enrollment course but may not take the course because if they don't earn an A, it will adversely affect their class rank. State code allows for schools and programs to not rank. I urge the school board to seriously consider whether or not it wants to continue with class rank and weigh the benefits of the few with the adverse effects of many. Thank you. Our next speaker is Melissa Luken. Good evening. For 40 years, student demonstrations and assemblies have lived under the same policy. Now you want to split them, not to clarify
028rules, but to silence speech. Policy 5-40 has protected students ability to gather, speak, and respond to real world events. The changes in front of you, well, they were in front of you till you removed it from the agenda. They were paired with the forthcoming policy 5-39 on student demonstrations. They do one thing and one thing only. They take away the student voice and replace it with adult permission. The existing policy plainly allows spontaneous student assemblies as long as they are peaceful and not disruptive. The revised version from Miss Williams eliminates that entirely. It requires pre-approval for any studentled assembly. It restricts content to avoid anything controversial. It gives administrators broad authority to deny student expression that doesn't fit a preferred narrative. All of this language appears directly in the proposed revisions. But that's not all.
029The soontobe introduced policy 5-39 goes even further, creating an additional layer of restrictions designed specifically to prevent walkouts, demonstrations, or rapid response to tragedies like school shootings. Let's not pretend this is about safety or order. The current policy already addresses that. This is about silencing students because one board member, Miss Williams, didn't like that students that showed courage after a mass shooting. and you also didn't like who stood with them. At the November PRC meeting, Miss Williams said that she doesn't believe there's data indicating student activism strengthens student learning. Well, maybe that's because she only considers learning legitimate when it reflects values she approves of. Decades of research is clear. Civic engagement builds critical thinking, leadership, and even long-term academic success. I know some of y'all prefer opinions over facts and science, but the data
030tells the truth. There's plenty I can email you for for these uh surveys. It is frankly embarrassing that Miss Williams is an elected official and doesn't understand the educational power of student voice or worse understands it perfectly well and wants to shut it down because she can't control it. So now based on the predictable partisan voting pattern of this board, I fully expect this poly policy to pass when it's presented again. Um the outcome is not a mystery. So I want to offer my sincere thanks truly to the MAGA majority of the board for continuing to bring these restrictive politically motivated policies from committee to the full public arena because every time you do the public gets to see exactly what you're doing. And while the censorship six have continued their slow motion project of
031dismantling public education, something else has been happening. Something I don't think some of you fully appreciate. We've been organizing. And while you've been busy silencing students, restricting teacher, and confusing parents, we have been building coalitions, educating the community, and preparing for what's next. So, please continue bringing policies forward like 5-40. And Madam Chair, that was our last speaker for this evening. Thank you. We are now on to an achievable dream academy comprehensive evaluation and we welcome Dr. Allison Bach, Program Evaluation Specialist, Office of Research and Evaluation. Thank you. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, members of the school board, and Dr. Robertson. Today, I will provide an overview of the key findings and recommendations for the comprehensive evaluation of an achievable dream academy. The evaluation report you received and your agenda materials provides additional
032details as shown in the timeline on the slide. The partnership between BBCPS and an achievable dream incorporated began in 2013. An achievable dream academy began at SeaTac Elementary School during 1415 with kindergarten through 2 grades. The remaining elementary grades were added with one grade each year through 1718. In 1819, sixth grade was added at Linhaven Middle as a school within a school model. All middle school grades were added by 2021. In fall 21, construction began on a new wing at Linhaven Middle for the high school students. During construction, 9th and 10th grades were added and located at Linhaven Middle School and learning cottages for core content courses and students were transported to First Colonial High School for elective courses. In August 23, the new wing was opened, allowing high school students to attend school fully
033at Linhaven Middle. In 2425, an achievable dream reached full implementation from kindergarten through 12th grade and had its first graduating class. The 2425 comprehensive evaluation focused on the program's operational components and progress toward implementation related goals, student characteristics and enrollment patterns, progress towards student outcome goals, stakeholder perceptions, and the additional cost to the division. Information was obtained from a review of websites and documents, site visits, discussions with program leadership, a focus group with an achievable dream seniors, the VBCPS data warehouse, staffing files, and surveys. Survey response rates and number of respondents for each stakeholder group are shown on the slide. For most stakeholder groups, these response rates are typical of other division surveys. Due to low numbers of respondents at the middle and high school levels due to the size of the program, instructional staff
034and parent survey data are provided at the secondary level overall. To assess the impact of the program, an achievable dream students were matched with students from a comparable school based on various demographic characteristics using a statistical procedure called propensity score matching. Outcome goal data for AED students were compared to outcomes for these match comparison group students at the elementary school level. Student zone for CATAC elementary are automatically accepted in the program. Although families within the CATAC zone have the option to opt out of the program. Overall 94 student zoned for CATAC attended another elementary school in 2425 but 117 out ofzone students attended CATAC. In addition, students in kindergarten through grade 9 throughout the division could apply for the program, although only students in specific attendant zones were eligible to receive transportation. In 2425, students
035living in 19 elementary school zones in nine middle school zones. Four, I'm sorry, four middle school zones were eligible to receive bus transportation to AAD. The majority of AAD students enrolled in 2425 lived in a zone that was eligible for transportation. In March Inch 2025, the school board approved an expansion to additional school zones for the 2526 school year. Data provided by an achievable dream regarding numbers of student applications showed 108 students applied for 2425 program enrollment and approximately 69% of all applicants were accepted into the program across levels. There was a notable increase in the total number of applications for the 2526 school year. 59 of these were received after the transportation expansion, most of which were at the elementary level. Overall, approximately 58% of all applicants were accepted into the program across levels
036for the 2526 school year with higher acceptance rates at the secondary levels, 73% for middle school, and 80% for high school. To ensure families understood program expectations, all in achievable dream students and parents received a handbook and signed an education contract with expectations related to attendance, behavior, academics, and dress code. When surveyed, 93% of parents agreed the contract helped them understand expectations, and 89% of students agreed expectations were clear. An achievable dream also provides students and families various supports as needed, such as emergency funding for utilities and holiday food baskets. During 2425, family engagement opportunities were also offered at all levels, such as fall festivals, math and literacy nights, and college and career readiness events. As shown on the slide, an achievable dream established two goals related to family engagement and involvement. When surveyed, 92%
037of the 46 parents who responded to the survey agreed an achievable dream provided extra resources when needed. In addition, at least 86% of parents indicated they were aware of the events provided by an achievable dream to support their child's education, agreed they were involved in their child's academic or extracurricular activities, and were satisfied with the opportunities available for involvement. In addition to the general curricula curriculum an achievable dream used the social academic and mindset education or same curriculum which provided social rotation classes at the middle I'm sorry at the elementary and middle school levels on etiquette ethics or conflict resolution mindfulness and meditation and speaking green which teaches students about communication. Another aspect of the same curriculum is a morning program in which students recite the banners which are positive affirmations that restate the the
038school beliefs and expectations. High school students were offered dedicated time for reflective writing based on social emotional prompts. As shown on the slide, an achievable dream established two goals related to the implementation of the same curriculum. When staff were surveyed about these goal areas, from 67 to 78% of instructional staff agreed the delivery and implementation of the same curriculum was streamlined through the program. While there was lower agreement regarding the curriculum being incorporated in the core content instruction, especially at the elementary school level with 22% agreement. Students and staff were surveyed about the impact of these social rotations on students, such as helping students be polite, resolving conflicts, learning communication skills, and helping with confidence. Overall, as shown by the first four sets of bars, at least 68% of students agreed the social rotation classes
039helped them build skills. A lower percentage of elementary school students agreed the morning program to help them be confident. From a staff perspective, lower percentages of instructional staff agreed the social rotations impacted students in these areas with agreement ranging from 46 to 72% with higher agreement at the elementary level. In addition, 79% of high school students and 78% of high school staff agreed the social emotional time with writing prompts helped build students social and emotional skills. In achievable dreams, students have several additional opportunities, including an extended school day for all grades except kindergarten, a four-week summer inter session for kindergarten through rising 10th graders, and Saturday school for any students who need extra academic support. Approximate student participation percentages were calculated for summer 2025. Approximately 68% of elementary, 91% of middle, and 69% of high
040school students participated. Participation percentages for Saturday sessions range ranged from 52% at middle to 32% at elementary and 31% at high school. When surveyed about these opportunities, depending on level, between 68 and 83% of students agreed these opportunities provided them with additional learning preparation or support with relatively higher agreement for elementary students. At least 83% of instructional staff agreed with similar items. An achievable dream also provided numerous field trips with 76 at elementary school, 49 at high school, and 15 at middle school. There are also daily morning greetings and handshakes from staff members. There are additional opportunities for clubs, particularly at the elementary school level, and a dream merit program to incentivize positive behavior. Community partners are also involved in the AED program such as through involvement in clubs, mentorships, and providing lessons related to
041career readiness. Lastly, mentorship opportunities are offered at all levels. Of the students who indicated they worked with a mentor, 97% agreed it was very or somewhat helpful. When surveyed about these other opportunities, relatively high percentages of students and staff agreed field trips and clubs were beneficial. Lower percentages of staff, excuse me, lower percentages of students agreed the morning program helped them start their day in a positive way. And both students and staff had lower agreement regarding the dream merit program motivating students to make good choices with 33% of elementary school instructional staff agreeing. Similar to other high school students, divisionwide, high school AAD students could enroll in courses at ATC or TCE. Students could also take ROC courses through Cox High School. Beyond these course opportunities, there were some concerns expressed by students and staff.
042Related to AED high school students having more limited access to a broad range of courses. On the student survey, 76% of high school students agreed they were provided rigorous learning opportunities and 77% agreed they had access to courses needed to support their plans after high school. The these agreement percentages were lower than at the division level. The courses completed by AAD high school students in 2425 were compared to a demographically similar matched group at other high schools. AED high school students completed fewer unique courses overall. AED high school students could take online courses through egeneuity or virtual Virginia to expand their access, which allowed them to take 14 additional courses that were offered only online. AAD students also completed fewer AP and dual enrollment courses overall. Beginning in middle school, students are offered a program
043focused on college and career readiness called What It Takes. This program involves guest speakers who lead sessions introducing future career pathways and provide workforce readiness workshops such as on LinkedIn. When surveyed, 75% of secondary AAD students agreed the what it takes program was preparing them for the workforce by teaching important professional skills. One component of this program is the job shadow day offered to all students during their junior year. All juniors and ste seniors agreed that the job shadow day helped them gain a better understanding of workplace opportunities. Post-secondary support provided by an achievable dream includes guidance with scholarship and financial aid applications as well as comm community a community class sponsor for graduating seniors which provided students a base scholarship of $3,000. An achievable dream also works with various partners to fill any funding
044gaps for graduating students. When surveyed, at least 84% of high school students agreed their experience prepared them for what they plan to do after high school. Their school provided them with experiences relevant to their goals, and they had a plan and knew what they were going to do after graduation. These agreement percentages were higher than high school students throughout the division. The next operational component of the program is focused on instructional staff. AD instructional staff selection occurs through joint interviews with the principal and an achievable dream representative. All AAD staff sign a three-year contract that outlines the additional responsibilities required. AAD staff who work the extended day receive an annual stipen paid directly by an achievable dream. At the secondary level, AAD instructional staff are formally designated in VBCPS HR staffing records as Linhaven Middle
045School staff rather than identified as working with an achievable dream. This makes it difficult to identify within the division which teachers are responsible for implementing the program and participating in AAD specific professional learning. As shown on the slide, an achievable dream established a goal related to teacher retention. Overall, based on the list of staff from AED who received a stipend, 71% of elementary teachers and 81% of secondary teachers who worked with the program in 2324 remained with the program into the 2425 school year. 75% of elementary teachers and 63% of secondary teachers who worked with the program in 2425 remained with the program into the current 2526 school year. Instructional staff were surveyed about their responsibilities as well as the communication and collaboration with an achievable dream and professional learning offered. Elementary instructional staff had
046higher agreement levels about responsibilities, communication, and collaboration than secondary staff. A higher percentage of secondary staff agreed there was sufficient professional development in the delivery of the program than elementary staff. During 2425, 704 students were enrolled in AAD at some time during the school year with 439 students in elementary, 141 students in middle school, and 124 in high school. Overall, 60% of students were black and 70% of students were economically disadvantaged. These percentages were higher than the percentages for the division's population. Overall, student enrollment at the beginning of the last two school years was examined to determine the extent to which the program was operating at capacities identified in the memorandum of agreement with an achievable dream incorporated. The MOA identified a minimum and maximum enrollment number by grade level. As shown in the table,
047the number of students enrolled in middle school increased in 2526. However, there was a decrease in the number of students enrolled in elementary school and the same number of students in high school. The graph on the slide shows that based on enrollment at the beginning of the school year, the elementary program is operating closer to the maximum identified capacity followed by middle school and 50 at 51% last year and 59% this year. The last two years, high school is operating at 33% of the maximum capacity. If capacity percentages were based on the minimum targeted enrollment numbers in 2526, elementary school is operating at 78% of the minimum targeted enrollment. Middle school is operating at 70% of the minimum targeted enrollment and high school is operating at 40% of the minimum targeted enrollment. An achievable dream
048also had a goal related to student retention. This was examined in multiple ways. continuation with the program during the 2425 school year and continuation with the program across school years. The percentage of students who remained in AAD throughout the 2425 school year was examined. Overall, 87% of students enrolled at any point during the year remained in the program to the end of the school year, while 6% withdrew during the year and reenrolled elsewhere. Another 6% left the school division entirely and 1% enrolled in a specialized program. In comparison to the students who remained in the AED program to the end of the year, higher percentages of students who withdrew and reenrolled in another school were special education students and students who were in their first year of the program. Continuation with the program from one
049school year to another was also assessed. Overall, 83% of students enrolled at the end of 23 24 remained with AAD into the beginning of 2425. However, retention was lower at transition points with 67% of fifth graders continuing into sixth grade in 2425 and 78% of eighth graders continuing into 9th grade. Long-term continuation was also assessed by the percentage of students who continued from the first implementation year in 1415 to 2425. As a reminder, the first cohort of students were kindergarten through 2 graders in 1415 and were 10th through 12th graders in 2425. Only students enrolled at least half the year were included in these analyses. Overall 16% of the original cohort remained in the AAD program in 2425. 43% of the original students were enrolled in another VBCPS school in 2425 and the remaining students
050were no longer enrolled in BBCPS in 2425. As shown on the slide, an achievable dream established five goals related to student outcomes, which were evaluated through comparisons between AAD students in a matched comparison group to assess the impact of the program. To determine the matched comparison group, several criteria were used. Students in the matched comparison group were never enrolled in AAD, were enrolled throughout the 24-25 school year at a school comparable to AAD, were in the same grade level, and had similar demographic characteristics, as well as not enrolled in another academy. The total number of students included in the outcome analyses overall are provided on the slide. To be included, all students must have been enrolled throughout the 24-25 school year, although students may not have had data available for every measure. The first and
051second student outcome goals focused on students academic performance. The first outcome goal focused on performance on SOS in core content areas and the second outcome goal focused on students literacy. Performance on the SOS was measured using percent passing and average scaled scores. It's important to note that only tests taken by at least 10 students in both groups were included in these analyses. Literacy outcomes were measured through performance on two assessments depending on grade level. Performance on the vowels was measured using students spring risk level average spring scores and improvement on their risk band from fall to the spring. Performance on the reading map was measured using students spring achievement average spring scores and percentage of students who met projected growth in spring. This table provides a highle summary by level of the percentage of these
052academic measures where AAD students outperformed their match comparison group with any degree of difference. The percentages with the asterisks note measures with statistically significant differences favoring the AAD students. The evaluation report provides additional details by content area and grade level. Overall, approximately half of the measures showed evidence of AAD students outperforming the match comparison group on SOS and literacy measures based on any degree of difference. Although there were differences by level, higher percentages of measures at the elementary school level showed AAD students outperform their match comparison group primarily for elementary student growth in literacy within the school year, elementary student math achievement, and fifth grade students. There were lower percentages at the secondary level, although the cohort of eighth grade students performed well across content areas relative to the comparison group. One focus of the
053literacy goal for AAD was growth for special education students. Overall, there was evidence of AAD special education students showing more improvement in grades K through two, but not for grades three through five and middle school students. When students and staff were surveyed about academic support, at least 81% of students agreed that instruction met their academic needs. In addition, 83% of staff agreed that the instruction and services offered met students academic needs. Lower percentages of instructional staff agreed AED provided students with the level of acade academic support they needed, particularly at the elementary level with 56% agreement. The third goal focused on attendance which was measured by the percentage of students who consistently attended school and students average attendance rate as shown on the slide. Overall AA a students outperformed the match comparison group on 50%
054of measures although there were no statistically significant differences. Elementary AAD students outperformed their match comparison group on mo both measures while results were less favorable at the secondary level. When students were surveyed, overall higher percentages of elementary and high school students agreed they looked forward to coming to school to learn while lower percentages of middle middle school students agreed. The fourth goal focused on discipline as measured by the percentage of students with at least one referral and percentage with multiple referrals as well as the average number of referrals in school suspensions and out of school suspensions. As shown on the slide, overall AAD students outperformed the match comparison group on 40% of measures. There were more favorable outcomes at the secondary than elementary. A specific focus of the discipline goal for AED was peer-to-peer conflicts.
055Across all levels, higher percentages of AED students had at least one and multiple referrals related to studentto student aggression compared to the match groups. AAD students also had higher average referrals and inschool suspensions but lower out of school suspensions compared to the match comparison groups. When students were surveyed, at least 82% of secondary students agreed they got along with other students, while 63% of elementary students agreed. In addition, at least 76% 76% of students agreed they had positive relationships with teachers. When instructional staff were surveyed about student behavior, relatively low percentages of instructional staff agreed students got along with other students with low agreement at elementary school. At least 72% of staff agreed students had positive relationships with staff. However, lower percentages agreed students treated them with respect, especially at elementary school. Regarding the instruction
056and services provided by AAD, 44% of elementary staff and 71% of secondary staff agreed the instruction and services met students social and emotional needs. In addition, 39 to 45% of staff across both levels agreed AAD provided strategies and consistency to support students behavior. The final student outcome goal focused on graduation. Graduation outcomes for the first cohort of seniors showed all 27 AAD seniors graduated on time. In addition, 74% graduated with an advanced diploma, which was notably higher than the percentage of the match comparison group who graduated with an advanced diploma. Overall, in total, all 27 graduating seniors received scholarships totaling over $2.5 million. In addition, as of summer 2025, 81% of AAD seniors were reported to be enrolled in college. Excuse me. Overall, at least 79% of students indicated they were satisfied with their educational
057experience, and 91% of parents indicated they were satisfied with their child's educational experience. Lower percentages of instructional staff indicated they were satisfied with AAD. This slide provides the additional cost to the school division for an achievable dream in 2425, which totaled approximately $2.9 million. The largest component was related to staffing at the secondary level, which was nearly $2.2 million. The transportation and facilities costs provided here take into account offsets based on payments from AAD to VBCPS in these areas. The first recommendation is to continue AAD with modifications noted in recommendations 2 through 7 with the addition of a sunset provision. According to schoolboard policy 6-26, existing programs that receive a comprehensive evaluation may be subject to the inclusion of a sunset provision at the discretion of the superintendent and/or the school board. It is recommended
058that the superintendent or school board add a sunset clause based on student enrollment given the cost of the program to the school division and the mixed student outcome results, especially at the secondary level. The student enrollment numbers continue to be below those specified in the 2019 MOA between BBCPS and AAD Incorporated. And according to schoolboard policy 6-45, the phase out of an existing academy may be recommended to the schoolboard by the superintendent if enrollment for an incoming class is 25% less than projected for three consecutive years after the year in which the academy is fully implemented. The second recommendation is focused on strategies to increase AAD student enrollment to operate at or near capacity across all levels, including identifying acceptance criteria and strategies for student retention overall and for groups of students with higher rates
059of withdrawal. The third recommendation is to support and monitor the effectiveness of the same curriculum implementation. The fourth recommendation is to strengthen behavior supports for students and disciplinary strategies to improve outcomes and reinforce program expectations. The fifth recommendation is to strengthen effectiveness of academic supports to meet students instructional needs and promote consistent academic growth. The sixth recommendation is to explore additional ways to expand access to courses at the high school level, including for AP and dual enrollment courses. The final recommendation is to formalize AAD secondary staff and official department of human resources records. At this time, Mr. Delaney, chief schools officer, will provide the administration's response. Good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chair Williams, members of the school board, and Dr. Robertson. Uh, the administration concurs with the recommendations from the program evaluation that were presented
060for an achievable dream academy. Um, as Chair uh Brown stated at the beginning of the meeting, we have members from the achievable dream academy here to help with our recommendations. Thank you, Miss Brown, for your consideration on moving them up in the agenda. Greatly appreciated. So, at this time, Dr. Leave Breland, president and CEO of achievable dream, will provide their response to the recommendations and then we will be available to answer your questions. Good evening. Thank you all for the opportunity to be here. I thought I could do that without glasses, but doesn't appear that that's going to work out. Um, so my team and I do concur with the recommendations of the program evaluation that were presented for an achievable dream academy. There are some specific things though that I would like to highlight
061and take a few minutes to discuss each recommendation and how some of those things have already been in the works or some of the things that uh we plan to do in the future or at this time. Under recommendation two, we had a very successful recruitment process for 2526. Um, but we noticed an unexpected dip in the student enrollment at CATAC after we had taken the students through the enrollment through the recruitment process. We projected that we would have 408 students enrolled at CTAC this year. As of October 31, we had 330 343. Uh so we did a deep dive into that. 32 of those students moved out of the division, out of the school district. 10 students moved out of the expanded transportation zone. nine students and families decided that they that the extended
062day program would not work for them due to um siblings being in other schools so on and so forth. In addition, and this was a big one, um we had projected that Virginia Beach had projected that we would have 65 students enrolled in kindergarten that were zoned for CEKC. We currently have 47 kindergarten students and 18 of those were recruited in the recruitment process. So we um the the projections for the number of of incoming kindergarten students was drastically different than what we expected for the 2627 school year. We're already off to a great start. Joy Boone um who is the the coordinator um at the middle and high school level um is making sure that we are participating in all of the recruitment events and we have student ambassadors that are joining her at
063all of the feeder middle school um events and presenting at academy nights. That's giving everyone an an opportunity to have an authentic experience. They're asking those students questions that that they otherwise, you know, wouldn't have the opportunity to directly ask a student who is in the achievable dream program. Under recommendation three, prior to the program evaluation feedback, we had already strongly prioritized strengthening staff understanding and confidence in delivering the same model. Um, this work began over the summer during inter session and continued throughout the school year. Key initiatives included professional development, capacity building, and follow-up surveys where all staff were expected to respond to provide feedback. Under recommendation four, an achievable dream has taken significant steps to strengthen student behavior support and ensure consistent disciplinary strategies across all schools. Through the implementation of our pathways
064to improvement framework, we have expanded the processes and supports in place for students to improve discipline, academic, and attendance. It is a systemic approach partnering with the school administration and parents to support students and ensure their success in school. To provide targeted support, we have a full-time family and wellness support coordinator in place at both CEK and Linhaven. Last year, we had one person that was between the two schools. This year, we have someone at each school. They provide indiv individualized one-on-one support to students. They also work with the students and families to provide strategies to manage behavior effectively both at school and at home. They also provide professional development for staff focused on trauma-informed strategies ensuring that teachers have tools to deescalate situations and maintain positive classroom environments. Additionally, they provide sessions for families
065to learn practical techniques for supporting their children during moments of escalation. Under recommendation five, an achievable dreams chief learning officer is co-leading efforts with VB's elementary executive leadership team to ensure that AED support for the instructional program at CTAC is both intentional and strategic. Through this collaboration, AAD will strengthen and complement the division's existing initiatives, providing targeted impactful support while avoiding any duplications in our efforts. Um, we will be reviewing jointly the assessments that that the data the assessment data that is informed the planning for Saturday school, extended day and summer interession. At AAD Linhaven, PLC planning has been an area of focus and progress. School leadership is ensuring that an air that areas of academic concern are addressed through targeted interventions during our extended learning, our extended day. This year all dreamers are assigned
066almost exclusively to AAD teachers which is s is a a significant shift from previous years and has already improved our ability to track data hold consistent instructional conversations and maintain co coherent across coherence across classrooms. Under recommendation six, we continue to refine our high school program to ensure students have meaningful access to advanced and diverse academic opportunities. During the 2526 school year, we've added two new AP courses and eight additional electives to broaden students academic experiences. To support this expansion, AAD funded AP certification for four teachers through the College of Women and Mary, increasing our internal capacity to offer and sustain advanced coursework. This year, five students are enrolled in ATC. One student is participating in NJOTC in the NJOTC program at First Colonial, and 12 students are enrolled in dual enrollment courses. We are
067currently surveying dreamers to identify desired course opportun options for the 2627 school year ensuring that students voice directly informs future programming. Under recommendation seven, we will be working with VB to address this recommendation. In closing, I have included additional information for recommendations 2 through six in your packet. at an achievable dream. We are proud of the work we are doing with Virginia Beach and we believe deeply in how important this work is to help our students find and accomplish their dreams. There any questions for me at this time? Miss Melnik. Hello Miss Freeland. Um so first before I ask any questions, congratulations on the um graduation rate that that's commendable and should be noted right out of the gate. 100% graduation, 81% I believe um are attending college and so um kudos to um everyone
068at AAD. I think recommendation six um will satisfy my question. Is that where unique courses fall under? Okay. I get head nods from Dr. B. Okay. Um, how does the retention statistic compare to the divisions, the teacher retention statistic on slide 12? Um, did it say 70%. I didn't write down the percentages, but um I'm just curious what our teacher retention rate and I would I guess for apples to apples I would say at a maybe at a particular school or particular I just wondering how we do overall. Do you I can speak to that. Okay. Good. Yep. So at this at this time we do not have a a division number but we can work we can definitely work with the department of human resources to see if that's a feasible feasible you know
069thing to calculate. Okay. I also think it's important to note that the long-term continuation that was slide number 15 that 41% of the students no longer are even BBCPS students. And so that that for you is a is a big piece to this puzzle. I mean, not just leaving the program, but leaving VPCPS in general. Like you can't ignore that stat. That's that's pretty big. Um and then the other is always going to be and we've talked about this at um the Renaissance Academy. You have 70% of your student population are are economically disadvantaged and we see this trend um with um behavior. We see it everywhere we go. Um so I can't ignore that statistic either. Um, so, um, I think that's all I have for now. I'll give a colleague another I'll come
070back. Mr. Ken, Miss Fre, thank you for your presentation as well as your associates who are stacked behind you and the information that they made available. Uh, I had comments on recommendations one, two, three, and four. And you stole the the comments on one, three, and four. So, you've reduced my speaking time to recommendation number two. And I do again want to reiterate that when this material is made available to us as members on the board, you're giving it to us with the hope that we actually read it. And there's a lot of data that's presented here and it takes a serious effort to go through it. But because you're presenting it to us and hoping that we do, I want to at least share with you the observation that I believe is still pertinent
071relative to recommendation number two. And again, I'm not going to paraphrase. I'm going to read it verbatim from the recommendation itself. And it says the following. Continuation of students from the 2023 to 2024 school year to the 2024 2025 school year showed lower percentages of students who remained in the program at the TR transition points between school levels with 67% of grades five and 78% of grade 8 students in the 2023 through 24 years remaining in the program in 2024. In essence, you were losing ground on that matter. And I'll finish with this final statement. Although annual continuation rates were generally high, continuation in the program was lower long term. So, it seems as though from my reading of it, not being in the weeds like you guys are, but as I read it, it
072tells me that the people that you're bringing in and hoping to persuade to become faithful followers, some of them are dropping off along the way. And it just causes me to at least observe that and to express my concerns about that because I know you're interested in attracting and retaining as much as you possibly can, but this gives me an impression that that's challenging and I just wanted to to talk about it. I appreciate you bringing that up because um it really is our intention when we accept a student into the program. The goal is that they will stay with us the entire time. the goal is post secondary you know how are we going to be able to support them during that postsec those postsecondary years one of the things that I failed to
073share with you the 32 students and that left the division and nine students or 10 students that moved out of the expanded transportation zone those were not newly recruited students those were students that were already in the program. So yes, when you look at the numbers from 23 24 to 25, no from yeah 23 24 to 25 2425, those students I said that wrong. 2425 to 2526. Those students were not newly recruited. Those were students that left the division or left the expanded zone. So that is a high pro. I mean, that's 42 students right there that we know exactly what that we were out of that was out of our control um because they were no longer either in the district or in one of our zones where we provide transportation. Okay, I I
074appreciate that clarification. Again, it just causes me to however pay attention to things like this to see whether or not are we keeping those we're baptizing. I couldn't agree with you more. I mean, I really couldn't. And I think it is something Dr. Robertson and I have talked about this. I mean, at length, how do we we want them in Virginia Beach completely, right? And we definitely want them in achievable dream. Um, so how do we make sure that we're retaining those students? How is there anything we can do to we do an exit interview with every student that is leaving the program? Well, I guess in conclusion, the fact that it's pointed out tells me that you're seeing this and paying attention to it and seeking to do what you can to address it.
075And I just want you to know it's noted here and I appreciate the information and we'll be paying it close attention and praying fervently for your ongoing success. Thank you. We appreciate that. Mr. Bowensteel. Yes. Uh, thank you for all your presentation. I have a couple things I want to say, but I wanted to elaborate on Mr. Ken's uh comments being someone that's been fairly around the academy and I'm very happy about it. They have a standards. This is my opinion that they adhere to and and they don't and that's the way it is and sometimes people can't follow that standard. So I mean my thing is do not lower your standards, keep them where they are and if the people can't meet that then that's just the way it is. And I thank you
076for acknowledging that. And also I was at the graduation which was also pretty cool being at the first one. And the question I have is 81% enrolled in college which is 22 students. Do we have any information on the other five? Were they what they are doing? I mean is it good stuff so to speak? I'm glad you asked that because um as a matter of fact um Amanda was on the emails that um went back and forth about two of them today. Two of them are in a trade program um and the so we were specifically talking about where they stand in those trade programs. One is struggling a little bit and so we're providing some additional support in that program. So yes, um I would I would like to say that that's one
077of the biggest strengths of our program is what is happening postgraduation, especially at a time when when they're in the world and can, you know, flounder a little bit. Um that's when we intervene and and really look to see how can we make sure that they're staying on track. So, three are gainfully employed um and two are in a trade program and and we are monitoring exactly what they're doing as well. Okay. And at the beginning of the uh presentation, I'm somewhat big into foundations and I wanted to acknowledge the principal. I'm going to mess up his last name. Fishu Fisky. How about how about off the record we Matthew? Principal Matthew. uh and I've had a pleasure to meet with him outside of school stuff. So, it was cool. Um but yeah, I just
078wanted to acknowledge the work that he is doing there and uh because that's big. And then I come across slide 21 and I see where the staff agreement has kind of mediocre. But then when they move on into the secondary, I see that it goes way up, which also I give him a lot of credit for for sticking with it and and and uh making these students I don't know how to say it, but anyway, I want to acknowledge that. And also, I see some of my friends out there, too, that are here. And uh if you've never been to the handshake, I encourage you to go, but I do have a disclaimer. You're going to get a handshake. Thank you. Vice Chair Williams. Thank you, Dr. Veland. It's always nice to see you. Um,
079yeah, kudos again for the graduation rate. And I know that when we started this and we went to Newport News, how many years ago was that? I don't even remember. 2013 when you guys I remember that was what was so impressive and that you know it um they kept telling us we have such a good statistic and good track record of graduation rates and so that really made an impact and an impression on me and and that's great. Um a couple things um so the kindergarten class was lower than you expected. So that's just because the enrollment at CATAC just happened to be lower than than the demographer or anybody else suspected. Is that correct? I would defer that to but yes I do believe that that's the case. That is correct. Okay. And what
080is the refresh me on the what what are the times of day beginning and ending school? What what's the time of day for elementary? The extended day. Yeah the extended day. Kindergarten is traditional. It does not change. First grade changes at second semester. Um, and it now don't get me to make Yes, please. I don't want to try to say the exact times. So, kindergarten goes every day 8:30. They walk in the door and they leave at 3:15. First grade does the same thing. Semester 1 and then first graders stay for extended day. Semester 2 from 8:30 to 4:30. And then second through fifth grade every day 8:30 to 4:30 except Friday we all go home at 3:15. Okay. All right. Okay. I I couldn't quite remember. Um Okay. So in 25 I think it
081on with one slide it said you had 263 applications. You accepted 58%. Um so that's about 160 students. Does that sound Am I quoting that right? Let me find the page. It's it's slide four. 263 applications received, acceptance rate 58%. Does that mean 58% of the 263 or 263 was 58% of those who applied? Can you clarify exactly what that is? It was part it was overall the students that applied. Okay. So there were more than two 263 represents the students that were accepted and that is 58% check. Okay. Well, and then that just kind of leads my question. So if 58% So what would I I apply and what would cause me to be for y'all to say you know sorry you're not going to join this program? What what would be that for
082I mean because if only 58 I'm just confused by that number. 58% of all applicants if 58% well in some cases we if we didn't have enough space based off of teacher allocation um depending on the grade level that okay that was a situation that we ran into at the K5 level. So, so what happens is we get allocations from BBCPS and during the school year we our memo of agreement has lower class sizes in K through five, right? So, we developed a waiting list. We have students on the waiting list. But in kindergarten this year, we brought everybody in immediately to try to get the number up because we were light with kindergarten. But in 1st through 5th, we were up against our memo of agreement number. Okay. Because of the number. So, there
083was a wait. So, there are waiting list. We look we dip into that when students move out the next one the waiting list comes in. So we do have students on a waiting list right now one through five. Okay. Thank you. There's where that number comes in. Okay. Very good. And that is something that Dr. Robertson and I talked about already for this upcoming year that we have to go ahead and and set the teacher allocation to reflect those the number of students that we are wanting to accept. Um otherwise we're limiting ourselves to we're working against ourselves for lack of a better way of saying it. So that's something that he and I have already talked about going into the upcoming year. Okay. Okay. And then one last thing, slide 20, I think page
08410, slide 20, the discipline, student goal four, behavior and discipline. Okay. Because it has an asterisk, does that mean that Okay, so 20% of elementary, you better come up with students have received a referral or multiple referrals. So, so does that mean that's greater than the other school kids in other schools? What what does that mean? Clarify. Yes. So, um the data on the slide is a a little bit. So, what it is is 20% of the measures were favoring achievable dream. So, um and that was in for that for elementary it was they had a lower in school out of school suspension rate num average number of out of school suspensions. So it was favoring achievable dream. Okay. Does that make sense? So yeah, I mean just not on paper. Yeah. When you're looking
085at this, it's like, oh my goodness, what has happened to the achievable dream students that they're like behavior is But you're saying like at high school 60%. What does that mean? So 60% is four of the five measures which are the the the measures for each level are the percentage of students who have um at least one referral, percentage of students who have multiple referrals, average referrals, average in school suspensions and out of school suspensions, right? So the the percentage is how many of those measures were favoring an achievable dream? So at the high school level, um 60% um were favoring achievable dream. I don't really know. I I'm I'm not getting this. 60%. Yeah. I don't know why. I think what you're saying is of when you look at the achievable dream students in
086comparison to the comparable group, right? Yes. Correct. So you're you're comparing apples and oranges and the achievable dream kids. uh behaviorally in 60% of the instances were performing better which is lower discipline numbers than comparable. Discipline is complic is especially complicated. Thank you Dr. Robertson. Okay. Because when you see it on paper it it kind of like looks opposite of what it really is. So I just wanted to make sure. Yeah it looks it looks opposite. So you know maybe we could work on that slide com. Yeah, work work on that slide for future presentations. Can I also add that um those were internal goals that an achievable dream set. So in comparison to the previous year because we're always working to improve upon these areas. Um so we had I known that we were
087going to do the evaluation this year in full disclosure I might not have set the goals quite so high as I did. But um but they were internal goals that we set high for ourselves um and and we're happy to share with the evaluation team. Yeah. Okay. And I would like to echo Mr. Bowensteel, you know, the standards are high. Keep them that way. And I love the morning work. I remember going in Newport News and at Allon and at Cook. And I do that as as a PE teacher. Every morning I stand at the door and get high fives. And if they're not looking me at the face, I scoot down. I'm like, you know, right to the face. right to the face. I don't do handshakes, but I do high fives. So, um
088I think every school should do that. Thank you so much. Thank you, Miss Rogers. Hi. Thanks so much for your presentation. Um I'm kind of uh No, I 100% am um echoing Mr. Kellen's concerns with um with recommendation number two. On slide 14, if you look at student enrollment patterns, in September of 2024, we were at 33% with the high school. And in 2025, we are still at 33% with high school students. And it's two years ago um the achievable dream came to us and asked for a coordinator to help with recruitment and that was granted. Last year I was sitting on the board and it was asked to expand um the the transportation area in order to help those rates. But what was presented tonight was that, let me find, oh shoot. Um, I
089believe you said it was 59, I don't know if it was 59% or 59 transportation expansion, uh, 59 students transportation expansion was at the elementary level, not at the middle and high school level. And so because if you look at the data that you're giving us that the majority of the money that is being spent by Virginia Beach City Public Schools is on secondary staffing, but we're not getting the results of those um you know recruiting those students and retaining them. It is of high concern to me. I want to make sure that when we are investing in achievable dream with a a coordinator that is supposed to help with recruiting with expanding the transportation as we've done the last two years that there is results being shown for that and so because I'm seeing
090these numbers it is a concern that we should be seeing an increase in that um recruitment and retention. um for this program to continue um to be successful. So, uh I'm glad you brought that up. Um the reason that we highlighted the number of students at the elementary level was because that's where we saw the dip. We can go back and give you those numbers for students who left at um the middle and high school. We just did not see that dip at the middle and high school level. um the I believe it was 70ome percent at the middle and high school level that we accepted out of the applications that we received. Historically, an achievable dream has never taken students beyond sixth grade because we have a model that builds upon our culture, our
091program each and every year. For us to take students 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th grade is an exception, right? We built the wing for that. We built the wing at Linhaven and spent the money to build the wing for that. And so because we did make that investment, the expectation then at least for me and the my constituents is that we we made that investment and so we want to see that that investment is worthy and that we have the students coming in and we have the students being a part of achievable dream. That's why we spent the money to do that. Does that make sense? And so again, it's a concern for me that yes, you want to see capacity at all grade levels. However, we also gave we are, you know, paying for a
092coordinator and we expanded the transportation zone for those purposes. Does that make sense? It absolutely does. And um we accepted Joy, can you tell me off the top of your head how many students we accepted? Six through 10. It was y 73% for middle school and 80% for high school for the 2526 school year. And and so that's your acceptance rate. So for the number of students enrolled, is that an increase, a decrease, or did it stay the same from the year before? It's an increase. Okay. And so then there was a huge dip in the elementary school. Correct. Okay. All right. Thank you, Dr. Green. Hi, Dr. Breand. Thank you. And my first question is for Dr. Brock because I assume you may have this data. Um if under uh in slide 13 or
09314 area uh student characteristics, would it be possible to get um the enrollment pattern by um out of out of zone like if they were supposed to go to Bayside Middle and they're it um ADA or another middle school. Would it be possible? And and the reason why I would like to see that data, Dr. for you. And I think it may be helpful too as as you look at um strategies for recruitment as well um to to see where um the expansion because a lot of students may not or families may not know about the expansion and I think that would be a good marketing strategy to help you um increase your enrollment especially at the secondary level. Um the next question um I have is related to and this may be your response
094Dr. Ver Verlin. Um recommendation number seven where you stay where the recommendation about a staffing person recommendation number seven formalize ADA uh secondary staff. Okay. What what does that mean? Yeah, I can speak to that. So currently all of the secondary achievable dream staff members are designated as Linhaven Middle School staff. Okay. In official human resources files. Um so we are recommending that that be adjusted so that it's clear who which staff members are the achievable dream secondary uh staff. Okay. When you say staff assigned to achievable dream or a staffing specialist assigned to achievable dream teachers. Yep. Okay. That that's what I I didn't understand. All right. Thank you. Yeah, Miss Felton. Thank you, Chip Brown. Miss Berlin. my how far we have come from 12 students to over 700 students. Long wait. Um
095just like to say to you I appreciate your staff and all that you've done and the warm welcome that I get when I come to achieve a dream is it's overwhelming. Show me around. Show me the new things. I just like to say number one I appreciate um Miss Boone, Dr. Brown, Mr. Bray for attending the community outreach that I invited them to and from that outreach they received a lot of conversation and parents were not aware of the expansion and they were really excited about just seeing a tree of a dream there. Not that uh VBC uh public school it was represented by many but it was just that particular group that was there that they found a lot from from them. Um, number two, I'd like to say when you have a small
096population, we have many more concerns, but it's a growing population. It's good. I'd like to say thank you for that graduation that we had. Overwhelming. Uh, the only thing that I would say next year just have some tissue boxes so we can, you know, noted. That was great. Um, we're talking about transportation and and you did come to us for transportation to expand your program which we gave that to you as well. And we talked about under your recommendation under recommendation number two. You talked about 32 students moved out of the zone and 10 moved from out of the division and 10 moved out of the zone. From the 32 that moved, I received 10 phone calls. They wanted to come back. How could we do that and get them back into the system? From
097the 10 that moved out of the zone, I got all those calls as well. They move parents called they move but literally where some of the zones were the parents had to walk the students to those zones and they were crossing streets that were very dangerous. Uh mothers literally crying how can we change this and we know that we are on a quality of cycle thing that we cannot just keep you know we had to see how this particular transportation transition worked. But out of those 32 that moved out did not want to move, but they moved because of cost of living and they had to get new jobs. One parent that moved back, she said, "Miss Felson, I took three jobs because I like this program." She's working three jobs just to be in
098the Tribal Dream. This program is very important to those 32 that moved away from the division and from the 10 that I zone. This program is very important and they appreciate it. I'm looking forward to us maybe it growing more. It's not that they did not want to come and the program was not good. It's transportation and it's getting to the school and is being there in the midst of it all because it does offer quite a few things for these students. So I say again 32 that moved out of the division went to another city was all it was not their fault. They wanted to be back. The 10 that's out of zone. They want to be able to put the students back into the school. But it's because of transportation. And that's some
099of those are your elementary students and parents that had siblings that they had to coordinate and some just could not do it. And let me say, I'm glad you brought up transportation because if transportation can make it work, they most certainly do. I really can't speak highly enough of transportation in Virginia Beach and the accommodations that that they will make if they can. But I just wanted to put that out there because dropping out was not, as someone used, dropping out along the way was not their option. They want to be in the school but it is transportation especially with the elementary age. There are some parents that's out of zone. They get up early when they have to get up take their child to then haven middle and then go to work. Then afterward
100they come back and pick this child up. That's not from hearsay. That's from conversation talking to parents and they want that. So I would like uh just to say just put that out there that this is not a dying program. is um oppositions is challenging transportation. Thank you for the job that you do. I will be back to visit you. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to let you know that Mr. Cummings has his hand raised. Mr. Cummings. Yeah, thank you so much for sharing today and I apologize that I can't uh join you in person and and whatnot, but I just had a couple quick questions for you and then I have a question also for Dr. Robertson. Um so first and foremost when we're talking about acceptance rates and admission rates
101and we see x% accepted is there x% enrolled out of those accepted or is that like 57% accepted all of those enroll is there another data point there? No that is the percent that actually are attending okay the the program. So that sorry that's the enrollment rate. Okay. So, you know, looking at um the presentation, I think there's a couple things that kind of stood out to me. One of them being um you know, high school attendance and then, you know, the programs not being fully enrolled. So, I kind of wanted to hear, you know, what are some of the specific things that you'd want to do to increase enrollment uh you know, for across all the programs, but also being specific like how strategies for hitting those attendants? um goals as well. So again,
102I want to establish that those attendance goals that we set were internal attendance goals that that we were seeking to improve upon our goals from last year. So, um, you know, I want to make sure that that we're clarifying that because these were not goals that, um, Virginia Beach City Public Schools came to us and said, "These are things that you need to work on." These were not issues with our attendance. These were goals that we set internally to simply improve upon where we were last year previously. Um, so we will do the same things that we have done each and every year and that is making direct phone calls home if there's an attendance issue, making home visits, um, you know, determining what the what the obstacles are. if if it's you know um
103other students in the household um if there's a reason why the student is not particularly engaged in coming to school what do we have to do to meet their needs and meet them where they are that will be our plan each and every year with students um on a one-on-one basis on a case-byase basis um I'm sorry what was your other question uh just about well since we're talking about attendance let me ask Mr. Dr. Delaney, real quick. Um, you know, I'm a huge fan of the attendance intervention uh app and technology that you showcased to us. Do those students in achievable dream? I assume the answer is yes. But do those students also receive the same interventions that the that the tech you showed us? Yes. Uh, Mr. Cummings, they do. And I think
104a key component of your question overall is we are pretty much locked up as Virginia BC public schools and achievable dream academy. We don't operate in silos. And uh from an elementary school perspective, Department of School leadership meets with Mr. Fisky and the AADA team. If not monthly, formally, informally, probably weekly. On the secondary level, there's consistent meetings amongst the Docsel team with Dr. Brower, Dr. Smith, and the AADA team and and Miss Boon. She's involved in our principal league meetings as she was today. So when you talked about recruitment the question you were asking there uh she's at the academy nights as was shared in the presentation has students going out ambassadors to go out and share the program with other students. Uh the unique challenge I think for secondary AADA is the competition
105with othermies and the options that we have across the school division. I think the uniqueness of AADA from my perspective is when you see 70% of those students are economically disadvantaged and the numbers that are going on to college and the postgraduate opportunities that Dr. shared to me is the biggest advertising point for many of our community members that as a school board and as a school division is the group of families that I know Miss Boon is targeting and that we are really heavily looking at that are not aware of the services is provided not only I'm repeating myself not only while they're students here but they don't let go of them when they leave and that they try to assure that they have all the tools in place wonderful partnerships that exist throughout
106our community. Uh, but I think their biggest challenge on a secondary recruitment end is the lack the amount of competition for other academic programming that exists in Virginia Beach. We're blessed with that, but that's kind of the cross they have to bear as a result. So, I think with Miss Boon's leadership and secondary folks, as often as we're talking, it is a heavy emphasis to get those numbers up because we know that population that they're serving is a group that might get lost in the shuffle otherwise. And, um, I'm just being very kind of honest in that response. Yeah, I appreciate that and I I appreciate what you said spec spec sorry specifically with um the population that this this organization is serving and so I applaud that effort that we're increasing college access and
107economic empowerment um you know and you know I'm definitely thankful for for that work and so I guess the pivot um my question for you Dr. Robertson is in along with I guess the board is one of the pieces of the evaluation that was touched upon was the sunset clause. Is that something that's going to be added to um a motion or something that we're or the evaluation that or needs to be added within whatever we're voting on or are you looking for guidance on developing that or what I saw that the administration concurred with it. So is that something specific that's going to be put out in writing? Mr. coming since this is Cammy Lenetti speaking. Yeah, we would need to look at your agreement, your MOA with AAD. They have an MA and
108amendment to that. That's where we would place it. So, we would have to revisit that. All right, that's all the the questions I had. I was just just curious because it came up in the recommendation, so I wanted to see what was going on with that. Thank you. Okay. Um and um I just have a couple of comments before we um cycle back through the board members that have had an opportunity to speak. I I did attend the graduation. It was very touching graduation and I'm I'm really happy about the 100% graduation rate. So good job on that. Um I really liked something you said about that post-graduation support. you know, as you were talking about those students and what the students are doing that are not enrolled in college that you were following up
109with them to see how they're doing and see if they need any support. I really do like that piece uh quite a lot. So, I'm very happy about that. Um my question is as it relates to the 65 zoned kindergarteners and I just want to make sure that I have some clarification. And I know that um Vice Chair Williams had asked this question um sort of, but was that 65 projected kindergarteners or are there 65 actual zoned kindergarteners? And does that make sense? Yeah, I understand the question. I'd have to check for the exact I don't want to give an incorrect answer. My assumption, Dr. Bach, is that in there? I'm I'm It was in response for the Okay. projected but it's not projected based on zoned the demographers gave us yes so zoned students
110and then so I would be very interested in what the actual amount of kindergarteners um that were zoned is instead of the projected zoned number because um you know otherwise we're looking at 36 students determined to to do something different and so you you know, and that's that would be my next question. Of those students that did not choose to go to achievable dream and went elsewhere uh that were zoned kindergarteners, do we have any pulse on the rationale? Was there any reasons provided that we can use to kind of There were only two correct only two. There was only two. Yes. That chose to go to Birdneck. Okay. versus um um an achievable dream. Okay. So, so that's interesting. So, there was 65 projected kindergarteners in zone then. And based on that, I can
111arrive at the conclusion that there was actually only 31 zoned kindergarteners. 29 of them are going to achievable dream. So, I don't even need that answer because Yeah. Here we go. Um correct. All right. And um okay, so that's that's good information because otherwise it looks like a a huge number or choosing. I'm glad you asked that because we do wanted to clarify that. That's an important point to clarify. Right. Right. Okay. Um and and you know, I I appreciate everything you do and I'm I'm hoping for the success. I I am concerned about the enrollment numbers and I understand the reasons due to the the transient area um you know and the othermies that we have you know and it's I know that makes it sometimes a little bit more difficult but um you
112know we do definitely need to get those um those numbers up and I I know that you guys are exerting that effort And um I do believe that in maybe another year the attendance zone approval will probably you know pick that up. So I'm willing to you know kind of continue to wait and see here um at this particular point. Um my other question I believe is probably for VBCPS staff because it's it's financial in nature. Um or right? Uh uh yes. So on page 71 of this uh report here in the longer report um it it talks about the staffing costs and allocations for the secondary program. Um and it says that it was 2,164,950. It then goes on to say that there were four additional high school teacher allocations provided by fund funds
113from the department of school leadership. However, the costs of these four FTEEs were not included in the total additional costs to VBCPS due to these costs not specifically being additional to AAD and because they could have been used at another high school if they had not been provided to AAD. In addition, although AAD Secondary has an exclusive school counselor, the funds for the position, we're not based on the AAD student enrollment exclusively. Um I kind of would like to know what the number is with that additional stuff because I I do believe that is related um because we are utilizing a resource and so I I I don't think that it's too I don't think it's fair from a um evaluation perspective for us to exclude um those those costs. And I'm I'm not knocking
114the the costs. I just the costs are real. We're spending them. Um that I'm counting five five uh employees exclusively right there. And then my other question is based on the allocation of teachers um the FTE teachers. So when we allocate that, so say the enrollment does not go up, will we use those allocations still or will those they're based on student enrollment? that allocation would come back to docsel school leadership. Dr. Brower, Dr. Smith would decide where else that allocation could be better used or they would hold that allocation in the event something was needed elsewhere later on. And that that is the summary of what Dr. Brower did with those hold allocations that he provided to uh achieve a dream academy, those four that you referenced. So those return back. So that is
115what we do every year. That's when we have the discussion a lot of times around fine arts programs and they're wondering where those allocations are. It's based on student enrollment. Okay. And I just wanted to verify that. But yeah, um just any of those numbers of additional folks, you know, um and employees that we have that are going over there that aren't being utilized elsewhere. I I do want that information. Um I don't know if those five are the only ones, but um with that, Mr. Bowensteel, thank you, Mr. Delaney for uh pointing out the fact that the director, Miss Bon, is doing what she's supposed to be doing. I've seen that firsthand. Um so, I mean, things take time. We just can't expect her to come in and just, you know, make numbers happen.
116But more importantly, I think we're overlooking some of the important factors of the achievable dream. And it's not just about the attendance. We had 22 students that are enrolled in college that I'm going to try and walk gently that very good chance they would not be enrolled in college if it wasn't for the achievable dreams academy and we got more coming. We've seen that also. Mr. If you don't mind if I can just point that out because I think it's an important point that when they hear you say 22 may not have gone. It wasn't because of aptitude they may not have gone. It's the opportunity that's been provided and a a big bonus of AADA is the financial support they provide to students and commitments they do. So I just wanted to say that.
117No, thank you for interjecting that. That is important. I appreciate that aptitude. It's not. It's a opportunity and financial commitment that AADA puts out. I think that's why I said I was marketing a little bit for Dr. Breand here Christmas time. I got to pay for some kids, right? But also uh we were talking board members have been bringing it up. uh un what I'm not sure exactly how to phrase it with the Renaissance Academy was it economically disadvantaged. So I mean the big picture is a lot of those students who were economically advantaged could potentially end up at Renaissance Academy. I mean that just you know just throwing that out. So there's more to just the attendance. I mean, there's a lot going on there. And the important stuff is that we're giving students,
118children, an opportunity that might not have an opportunity to succeed in life. So, that's just another interjection I had. Thank you, Miss Malnik. So, Mrs. Lenetti, the what was the purpose of mentioning the sunset claw? the sunset clause only because we have to review that every so often because it was it was mentioned and you have well I didn't do the report so they have to the department that was a recommendation coming out of the department normally with new programs you have a sunset clause this is not a new program it was built into the MOA whether you were going to continue it you made that decision okay different than other programs because this is an outside agency you wrote an MOA in the board did in 2013 you had later on amended at. So
119the terms of how this program works are set forth in that MOA. It's not like your internal programs that you've developed is a separate organization that you Well, that's what I needed to know because it just sounded different from the podium. It sounded like recommendation number whatever sunset clause. And so it's like we hear all this and then it's like and oh by the way our recommendation is to close it. That's That's just the way it sounded sitting here. I'm glad to get some nods left and right cuz it was a little confusing. So, okay. One says that they're going to implement a sunset. Yeah, it does. We're going to implement a sunset clause. So, and then it talked about phasing out. So, I just want to make sure is I can speak to that.
120So we did we did add that piece to the recommendation because and we thought it was um appropriate to include um based on the MOA with achievable dream because the current enrollment is well below capacity. Okay. So it was an additional piece but it is something that the school board would be defining the criteria and um all of those pieces. Okay. Fair enough. Okay. Thank you. Yes. Okay. Thank you. This will be on for action at our next schoolboard meeting in January next year and have a good holiday break. Okay, we are now on to the policy review committee recommendations and we welcome Cammy Lanetti, schoolboard attorney. Good evening, Madam Chair, vice chair, schoolboard members, and Dr. Robertson. I'm Cammy Lenetti, the schoolboard attorney. On behalf of the policy review committee, I'm going to be
121bringing to you recommendations from the November 25th, 2025 PRC meeting. Obviously, we've removed several of the policies, so we're going to just go through the remaining policies. The first up is policy 340. 340 is under your business section. This is a policy called design, building, construction management project methods. This is a procurement matter. It is a form of by which you do project delivery and construction. We have different um methods that are set forth. PPA is one of them. You've seen before we have design bid bill. The procure Virginia procurement act sets forth ways in which the school board can participate in obtaining services and contracts or specific rules on construction. Some of the things that have changed over the years have been additions to ways in which you can construct the PPA is actually
122not in the public procurement act. It is in a separate section and referred to in the Virginia public procurement act. It is a method by which you can obtain either outside agency participation, funding, other things that normally weren't anticipated. Design, build and construction management are also methods of delivery for construction projects. So slightly different than what's set forth normally in what we call a design bid bill, a traditional manner for which we do that. It was actually brought to our attention, we were looking at the construction management model, which is a model that's used in Chesapeake. The city of Virginia Beach actually pointed out that they're using the design bid um method by which to procure and do project delivery. So, one of the requirements for that that's come out through the general assembly and
123the public procurement act is that we have to adopt procedures that consistent with department of general services procedures. And we went ahead and worked on that for several months and came up with a design bid and construction management project delivery. What you have in front of you is not that. There is a regulation, a very extensive regulation. You are in the PRC. You saw that many, many pages because we're required to adopt the procedures involved in it. But you have a policy 340 was shortened on that and it just expresses the fact that you are opening up the option for the school division to use one or two of these mana methods either design bid within design build there's a progressive method that you expedites how quickly you can get the project going construction management
124just a different method of doing that. So this policy would authorize the school board under conditions set forth in regulations to use this on certain types of projects in which you've determined are appropriate to do that for. So again, this policy is just going to say that while you're maintaining competitive principles, you're offering the school division the opportunity to use these project delivery methods on there. If you'd like to actually see that, we have a regulation pretty extensive regulation explains this. It follows the Department of General Services, the Virginia Department of General Services. It is consistent with the city's project on this and city successfully been using this method. So we are recommending that you adopt this policy to allow yourself the option of using these when it's appropriate for the construction matters that you're
125handling. Are there any questions? Vice Chair Williams. Um yeah, I just wanted to reiterate and and Mr. Bowensteel and Miss Felton and I thought it was important to to put in the words option. So again, this is just another piece in our toolkit to use, you know, if we if we go this way. And also, um, Mr. Freeman added the last sentence, um, competitive principles will be incorporated to make sure that everybody that nobody was concerned that we were getting rid rid of, you know, competitive principles. So, and you are required by the law, by the general put that requirement in. So this is just a different method by which we're doing this doesn't take out the ability to make sure that the public has a fair opportunity to know what's going on and that
126multiple agencies and uh proposers have an opportunity to participate. That doesn't change. This is just a different way of doing it. And I just want to um I just want to take a minute and thank staff and also the members of the policy review committee because I know that this particular maybe not the policy but the policy and the regulation piece of it was a really heavy lift and I appreciate the modifications to make it a little bit um simpler to say it's an option so that the the community understands exactly what it is that we're doing with this. So, I appreciate that effort. Hearing no other questions on policy 340, we're going to move down to policy 554. So, if you thought design, bid, build, construction, management was complicated, physical rest, and seclusion were
127also very complicated policies. Now, I want to assure you, you have had a regulation for many years having to do with restraint and seclusion procedures. It's consistent with the Virginia Department of Education guidance for this. It is consistent with the US Department of Education who has looked at what we had through various cases and this is an acceptable policy. So you do have one in place and that's regulation five um it's 55 54.1 no 5 um 559.3 that's in place. this what we're suggesting will replace that on there and instead of having a policy which you didn't have before you had a regulation we created policy 554 which is what you're looking at here more extensive there is a regulation 554.1 we are required by the Virginia Department of Education to have guidelines in place
128for when you use the substrate seclusion and restraint that list out what the requirements are how you can use it how you document what are the procedures you have to follow whether you're using research or not. You do have to have that policy in place. So we that is what we've incorporated into the regulation. It is almost identical to what you see in our current regulation 559.3 just organized a little bit differently. So what we're going to offer for you in 554 was that you will the division end personnel may implement physical restraint and seclusion of students only when an imminent risk of or an emergency arises. The other interventions are or would be ineffective in the reasonable judgment of the school division personnel implementing physical restraint or seclusion and only to the following categories.
129Prevent a student from inflicting serious physical harm or injury to self or others. Two to quell disturbance. Three, to remove a student from the scene of a disturbance in which a student's behavior or damage to property threatens serious physical harm to injur or injury to its person unless the students damage to property creates an imminent risk of serious physical harm or injury to the student or others. The damage to property itself does not indicate an imminent risk of serious physical harm or injury and shall not be the shall not be the justification for their estate or seclusion of a student. Four, defend self or others from serious physical harm or injury to person. Five, obtain possession or controlled substances or per paraphernalia that are upon the person of the student or within the student's control.
130And six, obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects that are upon the person of the student or within the student's control. Again, you're not to use physical restraint and seclusion, but these are the exceptions why why you would use it. Now there is a misconception that restraint and seclusion only applies to special education students. It does not. We have never written it that way. It we document a lot with students with special ed because they have bips behavior and venture plans. We have procedures that we have to follow for them. But that doesn't mean that's what it's written for. And there are times when we do need to break up fights or we're worried about issues on there. So while we tend to hear a lot of advocacy from the special education community because
131they have concerns and we don't discount those, we still need uh to the option to break up a fight and you know very well when you look at the student discipline cases that we handle, there are times where we have to break up fights, we have to take things u substances and things away from students and we want to protect that right. So what this is saying is you're not going to use that unless it meets one of these categories. Again, B is the discontinuence of physical restate when the imminent risk or the threat is contained and then we have less restrictive environments that we're supposed to be using. And then again, it goes further procedures on that and they're laid out much more extensively in the regulation. I have given you a copy of
132the regulation which the PRC saw to show you that we have already developed the procedures necessary for it. We just didn't think we needed them in the policy. So again, we're recommending that you implement this policy. It is not significantly different from what you have in 559 other the fact that you're stating very exclusively you are not going to use it unless it meets one of these categories. And I do believe there's questions on the floor. Well, Miss Melnik and then Dr. Green. So, two questions. The first one, the state kind of clarified also what you just said too about what's allowed as as far as breaking up a fight that that's not necessarily deemed restraint. Is that correct? Correct. And again, this is almost identical to what the state has. Okay, perfect. The other
133thing is um does this do anything to change? I mean, does CEP do anything different than this? Are we in line with CEP or will this have to be then given to CEP so they know what they can and can't do with our students? I believe you're going to have to the superintendent who is currently in charge of CEP. Yeah. So um if this policy is approved, we would share it with CISA. It's very similar to what they're doing now. Okay. They are they are subject to the same rules. I mean VDE there was a difference about 15 years ago where they some of these school divisions and specialized schools did not were accepted from the rules but the department of education did require them to come into compliance with the rules. Okay. Okay. So,
134they're not really operating at a different set of rules. The difference with CEP is every student there is in special ed. So, that student has an IEP, most likely has a behavior intervention plan, would go through manifestation termination, things that would document it for which may you may not see with students who are not in special ed except in the city of Norfol. They don't do they don't do what? Uh, a lot of them say not to seclude. They don't seclude. Okay. Most It's very hard to say you're not going to restrain a student because there in most cases you have to do something to protect the student. They will not use seclusion and lot a lot of people talking about our seclusion rooms. I would imagine that we are pretty I mean I can't
135imagine that we would use seclusion often that we would have to use seclusion and the rules on seclusion. If you look at the regulations rules what the rules are there it's the room how you have to document it the type of room you have to have you can't just choose to put it student you have got to be prepared ahead of time so it's really not a procedure should be used unless you're using it now I will noting with CEP as with some of our special education programs these are students with very high needs that that's why you might see it more in CEP than you would see in our regular population but again even if you use seclusion the rules really really strict as to the size of the room, what has to be
136in the room, how long a student can be in the room. Okay? So, it really should not be a procedure that's used very often. So, some school divisions have said they will not use seclusion. It's I'm not aware of anybody said they will not use restraint because it's really hard to say you will not use restraint because sometimes you simply have to. Okay. All right. But for our conversation, so the public knows since we got off that this is specifically for Virginia Beach City Public Schools and no other division or entity other than than us. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Green. Um, thank you. First of all, I want to preface my comments that I do recognize the importance of us maintaining a safe and and orderly environment in our schools. Uh my concern with the
137modifications to this policy um one I know our department of school leadership already has best practices in place for breaking up fights uh when a student does need to be removed when they are imminent threat and danger. And I also know that so a lot of advocacy groups for students are not supportive of this policy. One um and and I hope this is not the case. You know I I think we are opening up ourselves to liability especially because sometimes human behavior on anyone's side adult sides I especially since we are in control can become very subjective um as well and and that's one reason why I'm already comfortable with the practices that we have outlined for staff. have through docsel um in the research it does not advocate using uh a lot of seclusion
138practices um because to me it it makes the environment um more threatening especially when we're trying to deescalate a student. So was docsil involved or yes when we were looking at these revisions and Dr. green. This is actually a more restrictive. This this policy is more restricted than what we had before. So it doesn't actually look that different. This one is very clear that you will only use it under these circumstances. We It doesn't look that different than it did before. So this is not opening it up. This is actually making very clear that you can only use it under these circumstances. Um and again, the other one wasn't. The current one is not that different, but the current one allowed you to make the decision depending on the circumstances. This one has very clearly
139said you can only do it under these six categories. So this is it's not opening up. This is more this is limiting how often you can use this. All right. Thank you, Miss Rogers. Hi. Um, so if from what you're saying that this is more restrictive and that if we were to do seclusion, there was very specific things that you would have to follow. There's always been, right? So why do we have seclusion as part of it? Why would this not just be about physical restraint in discussion? And again, I will let those who do it in the schools also add to this. There are times when you simply have to pull a student away from other students. And for those of you who've done student discipline, you've seen what happens. There's a fight in
140the hallway and you have to push one kid into one classroom and one into another just to keep them away from each other and the people in the hall. Technically, that's seclusion. You've kept them out of where they were before. Occasionally, you get a really violent situation or very dangerous situation, but you might use a seclusion room. We their concern was in those situations where you really have to do that. We wanted to protect the staff ability to to separate them. Right. But you're looking at it from a legal standpoint that technically it's seclusion. But then you're not following those specific seclusion rules that are set up for that seclusion room, which would then would it then fall under restraint if you're removing children from a fight. And again, I've had those students. Um, I
141I I I didn't put them in a seclusion room. And so I think that this is where people can be confused. We're not actually advocating for using seclusion rooms. Correct. Correct. So then, why would we not just make this a physical restraint policy and not a physical restraint and seclusion? Because to me, it sounds like there's a possibility to use a seclusion room, which we're not doing. Does that make sense to you? You do have some rooms and I will say a lot of their CE where they are using them under certain circumstances. If you want to that is an option based on the review by the school division departments the the determination was to leave it there as an option when needed. You could say no seclusion, right? But understand one of the things
142that happens if you don't seclude a child who's acting out, you're going to be calling mom and dad. you need to remove the child from the school because we cannot keep a violent out of control child there. So it that ch that's an option for us and allow which if we can't allow you the opportunity to calm down then the only choice is to have you removed from the school division. So so and and and again then I am unclear how we are not using seclusion rooms but yet you're saying but we have to seclude the kids. It's a difference between a seclusion room and just putting them in a room where they like I mean they have you know we have had instances where a child has to be removed from their classroom and
143are in the principal's office or whatever. Is that considered seclusion and is that considered a seclusion room? That's where I'm unclear because I just want to make sure that what we've written is what we need to be able to do and we're not advocating for something that we don't want. Does this make sense? Like this to me, I understand what you're saying. Obviously, when you have a child that is destroying a classroom, whatever, um, and they are removed from the classroom into the principal's office, whatever, is that considered seclusion if they're with another adult because that's usually I mean, in a classroom would be the procedure. Would that be what we're what this is written for? If you do that, then you're going to have to use the procedures in the regulations to explain what
144has to be in a seclusion room. a that the size, the ventilation, the ability to not have a locked door, to have adult supervision. So, it will depend on the room that you put the student in. And is that what we've written here? It's in the regulation. Yes. And it's the same thing that's always been in the regulation. That has not changed. So, if we then took out seclusion, we couldn't remove a child from a classroom is what you're saying. You could remove the child, walk the child down the hall. You couldn't what I recall isolated keep the child in one location. There are other things you could do with the child. Now again it is an option for you to decide you're not going to do seclusion and I would have to leave it
145to those that have worked in a school. What do you do with that student? that would be more information that I would want to have before making that decision, which is why I'm I'm struggling right now on whether or not I agree with this. Does that make sense? Because I I'm not clear as to what we would do if we couldn't put the child in the office, wait for their parents to come. I I just I don't know. And so I feel like that I need more information. Sorry. Okay. So, Vice Chair Williams, then Mr. Cummings. Um, yes, we had some of the same obviously conversation. That's why we've discussed this a lot. But I mean the PRC committee, you know, under um the expertise and the advisement of staff obviously in our legal council,
146we had to, you know, come to terms that this is not a special education policy and seclusion is technically if you break up a fight in the middle of the hall and you put one kid in the office, you are secluding that student. Um, so it doesn't say that's why it doesn't say anything about seclusion rooms. We are not advocating for that. It just says seclusion. So, um, but yeah. So, yeah. So, technically that would mean that if you completely do away with seclusion, it's what we were told. and Cammy, correct me if I'm wrong, that if you restrain or separate students in a fight and you put one of them in a space to be away from everybody because you know it follows this they're they're about to have physical harm or injury to
147self or others and you seclude them and the office. we wanted to make sure that you were still able to separate and put someone in a safe space or a room, you know, a room or the office um temporarily, you know, and and so we just wanted to make sure that if we took that away that we were con concerned that it would have unintended consequences of a staff or other students or that student being hurt. But we we had similar, you know, questions and so that's how we came up with this agreed with this. Mr. Cummings. Yeah, thank you so much for sharing and I echo some of my colleagues earlier um sentiments and questions and concerns as well is um you know I understand the policy around restraint. And so I would personally
148want to see this maybe policy broken up into maybe two different policies because I just sit back and think about um the presentation that we had back in June about seclusion and that term seclusion, how loaded of a term that is for the our community of special needs and how they often are the recipients of of that activity. I think that we talked about over 300 cases of seclusion at Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Was it last year that they they brought forth to us? Um, and so, you know, then that conversation and that session really sparked my interest. Um, and you know, I went about researching and googling and going down the the rabbit hole. What does mental health alliances say? What does mental health research say? And it seems to be a practice
149that many, you know, schools and experts in this field are urging institutions to, you know, not necessarily utilize because there's long-term negative consequences of seclusion practices. So, while you might be temporarily thinking you're doing something good, the longevity of, you know, that practice actually has a negative impact. Um, and so that concerns me. And so, you know, I do think that there are case examples that we can look at before uh having a policion policy. You know, I know that Fairfax, Norfolk, and I believe Lden um now also have gotten rid of their seclusion policies. So, we could see ask them or identify how they're handling, you know, breaking up fights and putting kids in classrooms and things like that. But you know I also see that there is you know many examples across um
150you know the country where schools have started to abandon seclusion and I imagine that they're also having to handle some of the scenarios that we have to handle on a day-to-day basis. But personally, I will not be supporting a policy um that has seclusion with it because I see how that term and how that that avenue how that impacts that uh that community um in my opinion in a negative way. So I would ask that you know I understand why we need restraints and I understand you know those fight scenarios can that Miss Lenetti that you that you touched upon and so I can I can understand that but the seclusion as a practice and how it's impacted a certain community um that is a a huge worry to me. So that's all. Thank you.
151Thank you. Um before we cycle back through um the comments, I just wanted to ask um Vice Chair Williams, how many policy review committee meetings did you and staff uh work together on this particular policy? Three meetings. Okay. Yes. Miss Felton knew right away it it was three that we've had it three times and it's a I mean I agree it's a difficult one. So we tried to strike a balance and but you know the the is the recommendation that we came up with after a lot of work and a lot of expert advice and legal advice. So all right so we have Miss Dwire then Miss Melnik. So I'm kind of I'm sitting here and I'm listening to all of this. Um, when we say seclusion, are we I mean it's to me it's
152sounding like we're putting the student somewhere by themselves. I would assume that there's a an adult in the room. Per Virginia Department of Education regulations, you should never have a child that's left alone in a room. Now, if a child's so violent, you can stand on the other side of the door, but you have to be able to see into the room. You have to be able to get into the room. uh preferred method would be to have an adult in the room with you, but occasionally, and I've handled enough of these cases over the years, occasionally a child can be that violent that it's not safe for anybody to be in the room. You have to give them a little while to calm down. But again, you would never just walk away and leave
153a child for a certain amount of time. You have to be there monitoring them. You should have a window to be able to see into there. There's got to be appropriate ventilation. It's got to be a safe room for them. So, you're not just putting a child and leaving them there long term. That's never appropriate. Is this frequent? I mean, so we know it can happen. Does it happen frequently that we need to be this concerned? I think your what you saw last year, there were 300 instances, if I'm correct, only two of them were not in the special the CEP program. Now, your CEP programs are embedded within your schools. However, they're run by a separate organization. uh so they're following their procedures which really aren't supposed to be that different um than ours.
154So for our non-special education students that are in our program or special education students are not in CEP, we only had two instances documented of of Australian secusion forms filed out there. So I I can't speak to exactly why CE's doing it. I will note to be in a sestep program, you are going to have perhaps a higher level of disabilities or certain type of disabilities that require you to be in a specialized program. So, it's not totally surprising that you would see behaviors that we may not be seeing in the rest of the population. That's why you're in that program is to get extra assistance, right? Okay. So again, um we're relying on staff and their training and their, you know, determined at the time the incidents happen. So um I really don't have
155a problem with it if it's occurring like you said and in the small numbers that it is. You know, the the small the the incidents are not as frequent as it seems like everybody's making it. So, um, it's definitely to me it's definitely needed. Thanks, Miss Melik. Oh, was any was anyone from OPEC involved in the conversation? It went through and the department look at him. All right. So, so I like all of that, but I'd also be interested in knowing how the divisions who have removed seclusion, what they're doing to be able to protect a child in the instance that was brought up that there's a fight and you have to remove a child and put him in the office. So, I' I'd be interested in knowing. I mean, that just seems logical to
156me, but I don't want to create a policy um or vote on a policy that would take that ability away for a teacher um who's in a position where they have to think really fast or someone's really going to get hurt. And I just I there's that crossover there that so I don't envy policy review committee, but there is there are there are some crossover moments there that have me a little concerned that a teacher might really be in trouble per our policy for quick thinking and trying to protect a child or children in in a terrible situation. That's the only thing I'm worried about. But um now reminded we will always handle litigation on this matter same way we handle liability if anything else. So yeah, we follow the policy. If somebody goes off
157track, then we're going to we'll manage it the way we do any other litigation. So that there's always that piece of protection in there. Okay. This is this is pretty Miss Melnick, if I may. Just one thing and Miss Lindetti mentioned this earlier. This policy is completely aligned to state code. So it's written exactly like state code. Okay. The policy is uh to Miss Rogers concern, your concerns, your questions. That's certainly why there's been multiple conversations between OPEC, DSLE, DTO. Uh how do we protect our teachers? How do we protect our students? How do we ensure that they make a decision in the best interest of the students and a student and are still uh covered? Those are all things that we discussed and have had a lot of concerns over. Um I think to
158reiterate the point, this is not just a special education policy. Well, that's what I understand. But and so the example I give as a former high school principal, yes, is doing an investigation that might involve a weapon um assumption of drugs, something of that nature on a child's person or something of that end. was not uncommon for us to have them placed in a room in the in the office to do that investigation which some may deem as seclusion which is outlined in this policy is an acceptable act to do in the instance of I'm not restraining I have them in a room to conduct a proper investigation the dilemma then we be we were having in discussions about this and Mr. Lynetti talked about this a little bit as well is and I think
159Miss Rogers asked this question. Is that considered a seclusion room? And as a result, does that room meet the standard of a seclusion room? So, as we go through that regulation, the training we're going to need to provide to staff to be very clear in those areas is something we're preparing to do as well. Um, so that the the amount of training and uh followup we're going to do on this with our security team. We we've left out that OSAM was involved in that discussion because they train all their security assistance and CPI training. Uh we've had additional folks train in CPI to assist with training staff that might be involved in restraint. That's more of a restraint practice. So, um, we share the concerns across the board on how do we protect our students
160staff around this policy and and, um, I hope that clarified something, helped clarify some things and and you don't, you know, you run the risk of overthinking. Um, but you also don't want to underthink because there are people there are divisions that are just saying we're just done. We're not even discussing seclusions anymore. But at the same time, we could overthink this at nauseium really. We could think of a thousand different scenarios and so I suppose if we're, you know, with state code and Okay. All right. I thank you. Thank you, Mr. Delaney, for that. And I can't recall which division it is. Just a a side note. Um, I noticed that some of the other divisions still outlined in policy what seclusion was and training on it because it's required by law. Okay. So,
161you know, for what it's worth, I don't think that we cannot have a policy that defines what it is uh because the law says we have to. I will say this is a very BOE situation. They they require you to adopt what's their model policy or something very consistent with it and it lays all this out whether you use it or not, you still have to adopt this. So on the off chance that you ended up using it, even if you said you weren't going to use it, you had rules in place and unfortunately that's what looks with very confusing. I will say if your choice is not to use seclusion, which is something you can you can do, understand that the consequence might be that you're going to see an uptick of students that
162have to be removed from the school setting because we have no other way to calm them down. They may be more often called to their parents to take them home whereas we might have had them calm down for you know 15 20 minutes in a room and then return them to the classroom. If we cannot use that option which is simply a choice understand the option might then be parent you need to pick up your child because we cannot control your child. We're not allowed to use the seclusion procedures. It's a trade-off and we all understand this. There's no good solution here when we're in a situation where we have to restrain or seclude a child. It's very difficult. It's also difficult on our staff. We are trying to protect our staff so they're not
163getting in trouble. They have to they have to keep everyone safe. They have to keep people learning but we also don't want them sued for difficult decisions. So if your decision is you don't want seclusion, that's fine. Just understand the consequence might be that you see other things happening less you know opportunity for a child to stay in the classroom and more parents having to come and remove the child and find something to do with them. We might be disciplining them more often. I can't say that's automatically going to happen. That might be something discussed with other school divisions. That might be the consequence of not using seclusion because that's what we're going to have to do. If we can't hold you down, put you down, take you into a room somewhere to calm down,
164then you need to leave the school property. Okay. Okay. Thank you, Miss Rogers. So, let me ask just another question. Is there a legal difference between seclusion and isolation? I don't think I've seen it explained that way. It's seclusion is the definition that VDOE gives you. I mean, I would assume isol isolation is pretty extreme, but the term is seclusion for education. Okay. And and again, the reason I'm asking is again I I just feel like from what I was reading that a seclusion is involuntary. And so if a child chooses to have a timeout, that's not considered seclusion. Timeout is an exception and there, but it still would have to be monitored how often it's being used. And you can't call something timeout when you're really doing secluding them. So yeah, it's a it's
165a tough balance. You will also see for those who've done special ed, you have seen a behavior intervention plan with the child is given a certain the child may go sit in this area, may go somewhere to calm down for a while. That's written into the plan. So you know, you have to be careful that it's not used that often that it becomes a seclusion thing. And for those that are used to special ed, that's not uncommon that they're given cool down times. Even kids that aren't in special ed might be given a, you know, a walk around somewhere to calm themselves down by learning to regulate their emotions, right? Tough decisions. And that I will say there's really extensive regulations. It doesn't make it easy for us to understand how to deal with it.
166We're doing the best we can under the circumstances. Okay. Vice Chair Williams. Yeah. Just one final comment. I mean, that's kind of why we left it in here to protect staff, you know, teachers, security assistants, because if they do have to remove someone for a little while because of a fight or whatever, because a weapon, um, that we didn't want them to then come back and appear saying, "Oh, but policy 554, you weren't allowed to do that, so we're suing you because you put my son in the office for a few minutes. So, you know, but you know, it's it's a tough one and that's why we talked about it and got everybody's input for um three different times. So, Okay. Yeah. Dr. Robertson. Yeah. So, I appreciate the discussion we've had for probably the
167last 25 minutes related to this and um it's a micro example of why this um discussion went back to the PRC on three occasions. I think what you have in front of you right now through the regulation is the best thinking and the recommendation of administration. I'll just leave it at that. Ready to move on. All right. The last one is 551 with some purple. This is use of board equipment. uh and there and we are not recommending any changes to this policy. This is simply it's been 5 years since we've looked at it. So we we've had some discussion on how this is used, how they're related policies on it, but in this particular policy, we are not recommending any changes. This is simply a recommendation for the five-year review by the school board.
168That's the easiest one I can give you tonight. And that will be the end of the PRC recommendations. Okay. Thank you. We are now on to Compass 2030 key navigational markers. And we welcome Dr. Lisa Banicki, executive director, Office of Planning, Innovation, and Accountability. Thank you. Uh, good evening, Chairwoman Brown, Vice Chairwoman Williams, members of the school board, and Dr. Robertson. Tonight, I will review the key navigational markers that are part of the Compass to 2030 strategic framework. My goal is to orient us to what these measures are, why they exist, and how they were developed, and the baseline data we now have for each one. I'll also share some considerations related to setting targets for these measures moving forward. To help frame this conversation, I'll walk through five questions. First, what are the key
169navigational markers? Second, how are they developed and approved? Third, who are they for? Fourth, what is our current baseline data show? And finally, should we set targets? These questions will help us stay focused at the strategic level. Key navigational markers are the high priority measures aligned to the goals of compass to 2030. They provide a clear snapshot of division level progress over time. It's important to note that these measures sit at the top layer of a much deeper internal data system. Schools and departments work with far more detailed and diagnostic information on a daily basis. But the key navigational markers give us the broad picture we share publicly to communicate progress. These measures were developed by senior leadership during the compass to 2030 planning process. They were shared publicly as part of the draft framework
170for community review and feedback and ultimately they were adopted as part of the final compass to 2030 framework. So the markers you'll see tonight were built into the strategic plan from the beginning and approved along with the framework itself. Key navigational markers are designed primarily for external audiences, families, community members, and our partners. They provide an accessible big picture view of our progress on compass to 2030 communicated at a level that is meaningful to the public. Again, schools and departments work with much more detailed information, but these markers give our community a clear and consistent view of how we're doing as a division. Now, let's look at the baseline data, which is from the two 2024 2025 school year. And we'll start with goal one, challenge each student to excel and be future ready. These
171numbers give us our starting point for monitoring progress over the life of a framework. For reading, 81% of students met state standards. This reflects the first year of the newly implemented reading standards. In math, 79% of students met state standards. Math also shifted to new standards. So, this too represents a true baseline year. 68% of secondary students enrolled in and successfully completed an advanced course. This measure reflects both access and successful completion. 91% of seniors reported having a solid plan for after graduation. This gives us a read on how prepared students feel to take their next step. For students with disabilities, 69% graduated on time with a standard or advanced diploma. This helps us track outcomes for this important student group over time. Next are the baseline measures for goal two, enhance student well-being, responsibility,
172and resilience. These measures help us understand students experiences in school and the conditions that support their well-being. 91% of students reported that their school is safe. This provides a highle snapshot of students perceptions of safety across the division. 91% of students also reported they have a trusted adult at school. This is an important indicator of connection and support and it will serve as our baseline for monitoring relationships over time. 66% of students reported that they participated in an extracurricular activity or club. This includes athletics, fine arts, academic clubs, and other school sponsored activities. 80% of students reported a sense of belonging in their school, meaning they feel accepted, included, and valued in their school community. And 90% of students had 90% or higher attendance. This indicator helps us track students access to learning and engagement
173with school routines. The next set of baseline measures is goal three value and invest in staff. These indicators reflect staff experience, support and stability across the division. 88% of staff reported job satisfaction. This provides a highle picture of overall satisfaction with their work experience in the division. 86% of staff agreed that professional learning opportunities are appropriate to meet their needs. This helps us understand how well our development opportunities align with what staff find useful. 92% of staff reported being aware of the resources available to support their health and well-being. This gives us baseline for monitoring awareness of the supports we have in place. Our teacher retention rate was 91% and this serves as a key indicator of workforce stability and continuity for students and our staff vacancy rate for 2024 2025 the baseline year was
1744%. Next, our baseline measures for goal four, partner with families and how and the community to support students. These indicators help us understand how well we're connecting with families and providing students with real world community linked learning opportunities. 77% of families reported being aware of events, programs, and resources provided to support students serves as our baseline for understanding communication and outreach. 88% of families reported satisfaction with the opportunities available to be involved in their child's school. This gives us a sense of how families experience engagement opportunities across the division. 81% of students reported 81% of students reported that their school provides them with real world learning experiences. This includes opportunities that help students connect classroom learning to authentic practical applications. And 15% of graduates participated in highquality work-based learning experiences based on the new definition
175of highquality work experiences. This includes internships, apprenticeships, and other structured learning experiences connected to community and industry partners. Finally, we have the baseline measures for goal five, advance organizational excellence that reflects how well our division system, structures, and supports are functioning both in meeting state expectations and creating the conditions that enable staff and students to be successful. The state has now released the first set of results under the new school performance and support framework. And under this system, 72% of our schools were identified as meeting or exceeding state accountability requirements, meaning they were designated as on track or distinguished. In addition, 100% of schools met state accreditation standards, meaning they were found to be in compliance with the state's operational, instructional, and regulatory requirements. 86% of staff reported that their school has the necessary resources
176to support students needs. This gives us a divisionwide view of how staff perceive resourcing and support. 87% of students and 90% of parents reported satisfaction with the students educational experience. These two measures provide complimentary perspectives on how well the school experience is meeting expectations and 93% of staff reported that their workplace is safe. This indicator helps us understand the conditions that support effective teaching and learning as well as supporting organizational excellence more broadly. When we met at your retreat in July, I shared that I would return with the baseline data for the key navigational markers and begin a discussion about benchmarks. Targets or benchmarks are specific performance levels we aim to reach within a defined time frame. They give us a reference point for understanding whether progress is on track, improving, or needs further attention.
177Before we talk about whether we should set targets for these particular markers, I want to share a few pros and cons for consideration. When we think about whether to set targets, there are some clear advantages. Targets help clarify expectations. They make our monitoring more transparent and they can reinforce areas where we're already strong, especially when part of the goal is to maintain high performance over time. There are also important considerations. Uh, some baselines may still be stabilizing. Targets can limit flexibility as conditions change, and small year-to-year shifts can be over interterpreted. If a target is set too precisely, and for measures that are already high, there may simply be limited room for meaningful growth. As we think about whether to set targets, there are a few practical considerations I want to highlight. First, most of
178the key navigational markers are available for reporting by August each year, which means we have timely and consistent data for year-over-year monitoring. Second, if the board wants to explore target setting, a natural approach would be a collaborative effort between the board and the superintendent as part of the superintendent's evaluation process that would allow targets to be aligned with your existing structures and expectations. And third, whether or not target targets are set, the division will continue to publicly report the key navigational markers every year. Transparency is already built into the framework. Targets simply represent one optional layer of interpretation, not a prerequisite for sharing the data. This concludes my prepared remarks. I'm happy to take any questions about the key navigational markers, the baseline data, or the considerations that I shared. Miss Melnik. Um, I don't
179have any. This was great. Um, but I did just want to comment because truency and absenteeism is always on our uh radar, but 90% students with 90% or higher attendance. Woohoo. That's really good. I think it's good. Is that good? Yeah, that's good. I thought it was a good stat. So, just wanted to make sure I read that properly. So, did Yeah, we're doing that. I think we all collectively over here, we looked at each other like, "Wow, that was great." But um thank you for this and this is baseline. So this is theoretically this is before we've fully we've just now launched compass to 2030. This is the baseline from the 2425 school year. Miss Rogers I just thank you so much for your presentation. I just wanted to ask do we have the
180percentage is it 100% of that we have our respondents for our staff and our students or what percentage were the respondents to get this data? response rates, they're not going to be 100%. And I can provide that information, but I don't have it here. Okay. So, I would be interested just to see our response rates because it gives me a good idea of how many staff are reporting all of these numbers, how many students, all of those things. So, I just I'm interested to see what percentage of our staff and students were respondents. And Mr. Ken, thank you for this report. uh questions that come to mind. In category number one, uh you show a 91% seniors reporting a solid plan after graduation. Yes. Just out of curiosity, how is that measured? We ask them,
181we ask the students directly. Okay. Direct feedback from them. Yes. Secondly, out of great curiosity and I think Dr. Robertson had indicated that might have been made available even today and that is where we stand relative to the state's accountability requirements. That information is now in and I assume will start showing up in reports like this. Yes. So, um, we've released a press release today because the results were made available today by the Virginia Department of Education and we'll be coming back with a full, you're going to hear more than you probably care to on January 13th about the accreditation accountability results that were just released today. We just couldn't do it fast enough. We could have, but probably didn't want that tonight. Sounds like January is going to be a month filled with something
182to look forward to. Things that are going to tell me more than I knew how to ask for. Yeah, you just have you have time to generate all the questions. I don't think I'll be able to sleep between now. I know. I mean, it's pretty exciting stuff. Yeah, we're coming. No, seriously, we're coming back to you with a full We've We've had that presentation created since September. We've just been waiting for it to be finalized and for the rest of the data to come out and now we'll be able to see how we look relative across the state kind of thing. So, and lastly, I know there are different ways of looking at this data, but uh the pros and cons page at the very end, I can't imagine not setting targets to shoot for.
183Yes, I get the fact that you can get involved in chasing after numbers and maybe missing big pictures, but I still can't take something like this and not say, but we got to have a target to shoot for and we get a score and we either are like the new assessment standards show, we're either on track or we're not. And either way, it's good to know where you stand. Mhm. So, this is just me kind of pontificating out loud as it relates to my preference for seeing targets. If you're taking a a straw poll, I'll put my name in the category. I think I I'll put you in that list. Yeah. No, I think I No, but I think seeing the cons also helps you be mindful when you set the targets. So, for example,
184if we have uh baseline data that's really high, it's like at a 93%. Maybe the kind of target you're setting is that we want to maintain it at a certain rate, not it has to be 98%. You know what I mean? Like if there and to take into account, one of the other things I think that matters is those minor fluctuations. I'm not willing to hang on a minor fluctuation from year to year, particularly as it relates to survey data and maybe your target can be the equivalent of a zone. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So, I think seeing that can trigger more for people. Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay. So, let's keep that in mind. If we're going to go through that process of setting targets, it's something more than increase by 5% every year, right? You
185know what I mean? Okay. Thank you for your time and your report, Miss Dwer. So, thank you. That's so encouraging. Um, I just want to remind my colleagues that what is it? We have 85 schools and 64,000 students. So, I'm pretty sure that's right. Right, Dr. Robertson? So, to me, uh, we're making our benchmarks and I'm really impressed. Um, I think you guys deserve a standing ovation, especially when I saw 100% schools meeting state accreditation standards and we have all these students. So, um, I'm very encouraged. Thank you to the staff and the admin for all the hard work. And I especially like that 91% of the high school students said that they were um what was it specifically? Mr. Ken said it, but that's the one that really stood up. We want to make
186sure they're doing Yeah. So, we're doing something right. Well, you guys are doing something right. Thank you. Appreciate all of you, Miss Felton. Thank you, Chip Brown. Dr. Bicki, thank you so much for this nice report. Something to end on tonight, make you feel a little bit good about yourself, about ourselves, but and I know you just stated baseline and you you you are reiterating the word target. Um, and I just like all that you've said so far. My thing is is the uh number four partners with families and the community to to support students. I'm interested in that 15% uh graduates participating in high quality workbased learning experiences and does this mean like internships or whatever? Could you elaborate on that 15% of partnership family? Could you because it's low we we had a
187similar measure under the prior strategic framework and it was higher but we adjusted this to reflect more of the way the state is defining what constitutes highquality work-based learning experiences. So we're seeing a it's a lower number but because we want to set a target that's meaningful and aligns to how the state defines it. Um where is this and how do they define that? Well, and if I could add, uh, Miss Felton, if you recall, one of the things that took the state the longest was to finalize the list of highquality work-based learning experiences. In fact, I don't think that list was complete until June, which means that our students never had the opportunity to pull or we never had the opportunity to pull from that list to say which courses are we offering. So
188right now we are looking at all of our CTE offerings and may very well be peeling away some of our offerings that are no longer on that list so that we can introduce quality learning exper experiences on that list because that 15% is very low. Um but again the the RA the reason is the state didn't come up with that list until June. So, so one of the things I want to point out is we do in addition to putting out our key navigational markers, we have a corresponding document that we're writing in really plain language that is what we call a methodology document like here's how this is calculated. So, I have in front of me the description. So, VOE uh identifies high quality work-based learning experiences to include registered apprenticeships, internships, clinical experiences,
189supervised agricultural experience, school-based enterprise, and entrepreneurship. but they talk about them being in high demand fields. So it restricts it even more. So we can also link out to what those high demand fields are for families who may want to know how does the Virginia Department of Education define a high demand field. You're welcome, Miss Malnik. So I couldn't wait for the printed version. So during something tonight, I on my old notepad with an 804 area code for Virginia Beach, I wrote out all of the schools and they're the under the new classification. So, I'm I'm very I'm really very anxious about January 13th and um hearing um what all of this means and being as fair as we can to our community because I'll tell you the choice of words, the choice of descript
190descriptive I mean it's it's pretty heinous to be a school that is now labeled off track makes me want to cry and I think about our teachers. I mean, my heart sank for the principles, the amazing principles and amazing teachers at these schools, one even in my district. Um and the fact that people who have so much power in this state to you know that that decide these things that they couldn't have thought of better words than off track tells me that they're they have no educational experience honestly or no heart. Um, even what you know I'm looking that's what I'm really hoping for are explanations for on track. The off track is really just really horrible. Um, I think distinguished sounds great. Um, and I yeah, it's I'm not disappointed by the work that
191anybody's doing right now in our school division. the fact that we have 100% accreditation is is top for me, but um I'll be I'm very very anxious about this presentation and what it means for our division. And if I were a real estate agent, I wouldn't want to show this to anybody. Um there are some really nice areas of this city who have just been given a really poor report card and I worry about just home values in those areas. I mean, it's bigger than than just what's going on, but uh thank you to all our teachers and all um our administrators in all of our buildings because you do good work every day. I just want to thank you for this presentation. I really like having the baseline data here in front of me.
192Um and and I I really like how you know number one is number one, right? and all of the other things that are behind it are things that support number one being increased here um which is you know the academic achievements and being future ready um and outcomes that you know students are excelling. So I'm I'm happy to see this. Um, I don't think that I necessarily feel like I personally would want to put any benchmarks in place at this time, but I would say that, you know, if we review this data, you know, more frequently and when we review it, if there's anything that looks like it kind of stands out, that those might be areas. And I imagine that you look at those areas on a regular basis. Anyhow, but you know, maybe
193areas that we might want to say, okay, this area over here needs just a a hair bit more attention for us. Um, my only question is this, and I might be getting too far into the weeds by asking it, but you know, we have 81% 79, 68, 91, 69, and those are all represented, you know, as whole whole percentage numbers. Um, but they're not probably whole percentage, right? We're rounding. Oh, yeah. I mean, yes. I would just be interested, you know, because in some of these areas, even going up a little bit is is significant um and it's a significant accomplishment. And so I would just be kind of interested in that. like for example staff vacancy rate, you know, we've rounded it. Um, but typically it's not not exactly an even number. So, I
194just I'd kind of be interested and maybe not in the just like, you know, one two three, you know what I mean? Not not too far in the weeds there. I'd just be interested in that information. Certainly look to see if there are measures that it makes sense to report to a decimal level. You make a good point about the vacancy. some of the other ones not so much like they would not given the metric it make as much sense. I mean I think there may be a couple um where that does make sense and so I think maybe if we could just take a look at those and go down to the decimal where it makes sense for us. So that was year two when we see the data it probably you know is
195where you're going to want to start looking at decimals too. Yeah. Okay. Well thank you very much. Oh, Miss Falton. Yes. Just one more point of uh concern. Uh as Miss Milet was speaking as well and and Dr. Robertson spoke and I asked about the 15% uh graduates participating in high quality work. Um and it is uh a little bit it a lot concerning when I look at all themies that we have and the entrepreneurship programs that we have and our students are working hard and we come up to a certain standard where parents are one of the students and people from other division want what we have. I'm concerned that how the state sort of glumped all the divisions together and make them all look like we're doing, you know, we're all on the
196same level of doing things and how we do things for education concerned. But I am um I do give a lot of praise to our teachers, our instructors who are in there working every day. And when you go to the academy night and see all the things that we are doing and how we're implementing those things and how the parents are involved and walking around said I want this and how some of themies just uh the our um environmental Brock Central Academy how it pulls in all student if even if they're going to another academy you can also be a part of this academy. So, it's going to be very concerned and a very um a setback to see how the state really regulate what is of their standard as far as high quality workbased
197learning experiences. And I think our teacher deserve a little bit better than that, more being professionals at what they do and how they do it. Talking with some teachers the other day, if they were in it just for the money, you know, if they were just here because they were getting good, you know, but they said, "I'm passionate about this. I love this and I love to see how my children get out come back and I invest in them. So I'm hoping they don't um Dr. Robinson they don't uh strain us too hard on those uh base learning high quality whip flow. I just want to put that out and say thank you Dr. Benny for all that you do and your staff. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. We are now on to
198the consent agenda. We are going to be voting on textbook adoption, nursing, anatomy and physiology, Theelia Elementary School roof systems replacement, Renaissance Academy welding lab renovation, Lancetown High School synthetic turf stadium field, energy performance contract, Renaissance Academy alternative education program year three outcome evaluation recommendations. Are there any objections to the schoolboard voting on the consent agendas as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. Moved by Miss Wyer, seconded by Mr. Kalen. I call for the vote to approve the consent agenda. And Mr. Cummings, how do you vote on the consent agenda? Yes. Thank you. And Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes. So, the motion to pass for the approval of the consent agenda. Thank you. We are now on to personnel report and administrative appointments. I call
199for a motion to approve the personnel report and administrative appointments. Moved by Miss Dwire, seconded by Miss Melnik. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the administrative and personnel appointments. Mr. Cummies, how do you vote on the personnel report and administrative appointments? Yes. And Miss Melnik, how do you vote? I didn't vote. I'm sorry. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have 10 eyes. The motion to pass for the personnel report administrative appointments. Thank you. Dr. Robertson, do you have any administrative appointments? Yes, Madam Chair, I do. I have four. Uh, first, we're pleased that you've accepted our recommendation for Tova Hayes, currently an admin assistant, split between Glenwood and Linhaven Elementary School to be the next assistant principal at New Town Elementary School. Love one's plate. One page, please. Next up, we
200have George Loer Jr. currently an admin assistant serving at College Park and Holland elementary schools to be the next assistant principal at Linhaven Elementary School. Next up, we have Megan Smith, currently an admin assistant at John B. Dye and Thurood elementary schools to be the next assistant principal at Malibu Elementary School. And then finally, we have we're pleased you've accepted our recommendation for Sharita Pigen, currently an assistant principal at Corporate Landing Middle School, to be the next assistant principal at Lancetown High School. Thank you very much. That concludes our appointments. Thank you. We are now on to committee, organization, or board reports. Do any board members have anything to report? Vice Chair Wings. Um, yes, just to remind everybody that the PRC meeting is on December 18th. And what time was that, Cammy or Cheryl?
201It's December 18th. Oh, yeah. 3:30 and then also I attended the gifted advisory um board um committee meeting last week and I'll tell you that is such a joy to go to. They are so organized. That's that's not hard to hard to believe though, is it? But they are organized and they went on school visits and reported back. So it's just I've really enjoyed that committee. Thank you. Um, Miss Melnik. Um, so next Friday, the 19th, we have a BU meeting. Um, and that will be televised for the viewing public. Mr. Callen, I had an opportunity to attend the Xmas files presentation. It was a dress rehearsal at Allenton Elementary School put on by a large number of the elementary school students and it was all about the Christmas season and the Christmas spirit and
202done in a sci-fi creative perspective. It was really enjoyable. Uh the students were very impressive in their delivery of their lines and their performance and did it with a lot of motion and passion and it was fun to be a part of it. That's great. Um, I also want to report that the SEAK, the special education advisory committee is going to be meeting on January 12th, which is before our next meeting. Um, and so that will be going on. And also they do public comment for um, families of special education students. So, if you're interested in public comment or you know somebody that would want to provide that, they are trying to seek additional public comment, that's something that they're really looking to do this particular year. So, I told them that I would mention
203at our meeting and since this is our final meeting before our holiday break, I want everybody to enjoy your break and whatever you celebrate, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, or just your time off. I hope that you enjoy it and that it's restful and um rejuvenating. So with that, it is 9:08 p.m. We are adjourned. Thank you. See you at 9. Yes.