001Yeah, Sorry, my team's a little shy today. I know. We're never shy. There he is. Thank you all for enjoying lunch with us today. Uh everything you guys had will be offered on our next year's menu for the students. So, we're very excited um for that. Um one of the dishes is the Brookwood chicken Florentine, which was a competition dish that the students uh did a really fun junior chef competition and won. So, uh, we made it a little more schoolified, but it's going to be on the menu for next year. And I just wanted to introduce my awesome team. They're amazing. Um, so, thank you guys for all that you do. And, uh, let's go feed some more kids, huh? of the Virginia Beach School Board and I hereby call this meeting to order.
002Um, this is our annual schoolboard retreat. Madame Clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. Present in the uh PDC room B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D B D we have Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Bowensteel, Mr. Ken, Miss Dwire, Miss Belton, Dr. Green, Miss Melnik, and Miss Rogers. Okay, thank you. And Mr. Cummings is on his way and will be here in a few moments. Um so just welcome everybody to this retreat. I know this is a few of you all's first retreat, so we're very excited. I hope that this agenda here will be a very productive couple
003of days. Um, I'm not going to read over it because it's right in front of you, but um, I am going to make one note. We don't have our iPads in here today. So, we're going to kind of go the old school method here of getting Vice Chair Williams or his attention with a raised hand and we'll put you in line to speak as you have um, comments or questions. Yes. Doesn't it pop up when we push that we want to speak? If you if you guys would prefer to turn your microphone on as a means of going in order, but our microphones would then be on that entire time that you're waiting in line. Um, so we can do either route. Um, I have name tags here if people would prefer to have their
004mics on. Does anyone have a preference? You'll push your button to get in line. Okay. Okay. And then I'll just we'll keep an eye on that as well. Thank you. Um I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Robertson to see if he has any additional comments before we get going. Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh welcome board members to the next day and a half. We're going to cover a number of items of interest to the school board um that we use to develop today's agenda. uh we've tried to arrange the topics by day that are aligned to similar areas. So you'll know today we're starting with student achievement results and compass 2030 because our strategic framework is grounded in educational excellence and so we thought it appropriate to show student achievement results first.
005Again, with Compass 2030 as the as the foundation for today, we also are going to talk about an instructional technology update to include artificial intelligence and Chromebook usage before transitioning a bit again related to Compass of 2030 under goal 5, building usage and redistricting with U. Melissa Ingram. Um, so we are really excited about what we're going to share with you today. Um, we think that you're going to find it highly informative to represent the work we've done over the last year. We being collectively we, including board members, because a lot of the things we were able to accomplish would not have been accomplished without the support of board members. Um, so at this point, um, I don't have anything else to add. I think we're prepared. Madam Chair, if you would like to start
006with Dr. Banick and student achievement results. Right. Thank you. And at this time, we welcome Dr. Banicki, executive director of planning, innovation, and accountability for student achievement results. Thank you. Thank you. Let's try that again. Well, I think it's fitting that we begin today's retreat with a look at student achievement results across our division. This presentation offers a snapshot of where we are academically as a school division. We'll look at how students are performing on state assessments and key college and career readiness measures. More specifically, in today's presentation, we'll examine performance on the standards of learning assessments overall and by test, as well as measures of readiness beyond the so tests, including the percentage of secondary students, successfully completing advanced coursework, student performance on standardized assessment of college readiness, and career and technical credentiing assessment
007data. where available. We will also examine the data by student group to help us understand patterns and highlight areas where focused attention is needed. I'll wrap up the presentation by sharing the timeline for receiving additional performance data from the state. The data we'll examine offer a snapshot of how well we're preparing students for success in school and beyond. These results aren't end points, they're signals, helping us see where our system is supporting students well and where we must do more. Viewing the data in this way helps us refine our support and increase opportunities for all students and reinforces why compass to 2030, our new strategic framework, is not just timely but necessary. Because behind every data point is a student with a future and our job is to make sure the system is doing its
008part. So let's begin with an overview of where we are. The first slide shows the overall division level passing rate for each of the four core so content areas. You'll also see how much each area has changed compared to the prior year. While we saw positive gains in mathematics and especially history and science, we experienced a slight decline in reading compared to the year prior. Each subject area brings its own context. Over the next four slides, we'll look at results by so test within each content area over the last three years. Our goal here is to identify trends, not just year-over-year shifts, so we can see where sustained improvement is occurring and where additional support may be needed. Showing three years allows us to balance recency with context without being too overwhelming. This slide shows
009three years of reading so passing rates by test from 2022 23 through the current year. At the elementary level, we see slight declines this year. Grade three dropped from 77 to 74%, grade four from 83 to 79% and grade 5 was relatively unchanged. These shifts, though modest, are important to monitor, especially as we consider the impact of the Virginia Literacy Act. The VLA was fully implemented this year in grades K to 5. This year was the first administration of reading SOS aligned to the 2017 English Standards of Learning and the first year elementary implemented a new curriculum. A dip in performance during the first year of new standards is not uncommon as both students and teachers adjust to revised expectations. We expect to see more direct impacts on the new literacy standards in future cohorts
010as students benefit from sustained structured literacy instruction beginning in kindergarten. For the grades six, seven, and eight reading tests, results were mostly steady or improved, as was the case for the grade eight test, where the passing rate rose from 79 to 83%, a four-point gain. On the end of course test, reading performance continued to be strong with a 91% passing rate in the most recent testing year. This slide presents three years of math so passing rates by test. Should be noted that this year was the first administration of the math SOS aligned to the 2016 mathematics standards. At the elementary level, we saw some positive movement. Grade three math so passing rates rose from 76 to 78% and math grade 5 so passing rates saw increases each of the three years from 75 to 79%.
011In the middle grades results were more mixed. Grade six math so passing rates dipped from 72% last year to 67% this year while grade 8 math so passing rates remained relatively stable around the mid70s. The grade math so passing rate was lower at 46% in the most recent testing year, but it reflects only a portion of our seventh grade population. In Virginia Beach, many seventh grade students are enrolled in higher level math courses such as grade 8 math or algebra 1, and those students take the corresponding so for their course enrollment. As a result, the grade seven math so is taken by a smaller group of students whose course placement may reflect different levels of readiness. At the high school level, performance continued to be strong with passing rates at or above 90% for algebra
0121, algebra 2, and geometry. This slide shows three years of science so passing rates by test. Hupper trends were noted on the grade 5 science test with the passing rate rising from 70 to 73% and the performance on the grade 8 science so test increasing six points from 73 to 79%. In high school, biology improved steadily from 81 to 84% over the same period. And chemistry saw a notable gain this year, rising from 51 to 61%. And Earth science remained consistently strong with passing rates at or above 90%. These assessments are aligned to the 2018 science standards of learning which were fully implemented beginning in the 2022 23 school year. That means the data shown here reflect the first three years of testing under the revised standards. This kind of upward trend is exactly what
013we hope to see as new standards take hold. Teachers and students have had more time to adjust to the expectations and instruction continues to align more deeply each year. This slide shows three years of so passing rates for history and social science by test for the past three years. In grade five, we saw a dip last year followed by a rebound moving from 69 to 74 74% this year. Performance on the grade 8 test remained relatively stable, holding between 81 and 82% throughout the three-year period. And looking at the end of course so assessments, results for world geography increased slightly from 78 to 80%. So passing rates for the world history 1 rose from 73 to 78% over the three years. So passing rates for world history 2 also demonstrated an increase from 31 to
01438%. And although Virginia and US history did not evidence a linear trend over the three years, it did evidence an eight-point increase when compared this year to last year. Passing the EOC history so the corresponding course is one way students can earn a verified credit toward graduation. The Virginia Department of Education has also permitted divisions to award verified credits using an alternative process called locally awarded verified credit option 2 or LABC2. In lie of the so under the LABC2, students must produce a body of work as evidence of mastery of course standards. To earn a verified credit, they must pass the course, demonstrate mastery of the content, and complete three out of four performance tasks successfully. This work must be reviewed by a school-based panel. This past year, eight of our high schools participated in
015this opportunity. The table in the top right corner displays the number of students who needed a verified credit in history and the number and percent who earned the LABC2 for each of the three courses where the opportunity was provided. Across all three courses, the majority of students who needed a verified credit and were eligible for the LABC 2 option were able to demonstrate mastery and meet the state's rigorous requirements. Specifically, over 90% of eligible students in world geography, world history 1, and Virginia and US history successfully earned a verified credit through this alternative approach. While this overall testbased passing rates are important for tracking trends, it's equally important to note that a growing number of students are demonstrating mastery in other validated ways. It is also important to note that the new history and social
016science standards were adopted in 2023 and full implementation will begin in the 202526 school year. The first assessments aligned to the new standards will be administered in the spring of 2026. So while we're seeing improvement in some areas, we also recognize that instructional shifts are still underway and we may see further change in outcomes once the new standards are fully assessed. As we've just seen, our SL data gives us important insight into how students are performing in the core content areas, but preparing students to be college, career, and life ready is not just about passing a test. It's about whether students graduate with access to real choices and the confidence to pursue them. In this next section, we'll look at three key indicators that help us assess how well we're preparing students for life beyond
017the classroom. and they include completion of advanced coursework, early indicators of college readiness measured by PSAT and MSQT benchmarks, results from career and technical education credentiing assessments. Each of these tells a different part of the story about readiness. One way we monitor readiness is by looking at participation and advanced coursework. This includes honors, advanced placement, international balora courses, dual enrollment, and other rigorous academic offerings in both middle and high school. This graph shows the percentage of students enrolling in and successfully completing advanced coursework with a grade of D or higher for middle school students and high school students separately and for both combined. Successful completion rates for advanced coursework at the middle school level was held steady at 66% for the last two years after increasing from 63% in 2022 23. High school rates have
018shown steady progress over the same time increasing from 68 to 70% over the past three years. And overall, the combined rate for secondary students rose from 66 to 68% and remain stable this year. This suggests that access to rigorous coursework has expanded slightly and that students are continuing to complete these courses successfully. This is one of several ways we help students build confidence in their ability to take on challenging work and prepare for future opportunities. In addition to tracking which advanced courses students are taking and completing, we also use nationally benchmarked criterion referenced assessments to understand how prepared they are for college level work. The PSAT NMSQT gives us a broader perspective on readiness by comparing our students performance on national benchmarks and helping us see who may be on track and who may need
019more support before graduation. The PSAT and MSQT is a national assessment administered by the College Board, typically in grades 10 and 11. It includes two sections, reading and writing and mathematics. Rather than giving a single score or a past fail result, the assessment provides benchmark indicators. These show whether students are on track to succeed in a firstear college level course. The benchmark is intentionally rigorous. It represents a student's likelihood of earning at least a C in a firstear college course. In addition to serving as an early indicator of college readiness, the PSAT and MSQT is also used to identify students for national merit and other scholarship opportunities. In Virginia Beach, we pay for all 11th graders to take the PSAT and MSQT each fall. This level of access is not common nationwide and reflects our
020commitment to early college and career planning for every student. The data we receive helps us identify patterns in performance, target support for students who need it, and make instructional decisions that strengthen preparation across the division. While we offer the PSAT NMSQT to all 11th graders at no cost, our actual participation rate this year was about 75%. That gap reflects a few practical realities. Enrollment counts are based on a different date than the test. Some students are absent or opt out, and a small number may require accommodations not supported by the College Board. Even so, our participation rate is well above the state and national averages. Across Virginia, about 47% of 11th graders participated, and nationally, the rate was 43%. Our policy continues to reflect a strong commitment to equitable access to college readiness opportunities. The
021chart shows the percentage of students meeting the college board's benchmark in each section. For evidence-based reading and writing, 65% of BBCPS 11th graders met the benchmark, slightly below the state and national averages of 69 and 66% respectively. In mathematics, 35% of EBCPS students met the benchmark compared to 44% in Virginia and 42% nationally. This lower performance in math isn't unique to our division, but it does highlight mathematics as an area where students often need more support. To help address this, our teaching and learning team has been collaborating with the office of research and evaluation to examine students math course taking patterns and revisiting our secondary math sequence. The focus is on improving course placement, pacing, and support, especially around algebra 1, to strengthen readiness for success in high school and beyond. This early work reflects
022a targeted and proactive response to trends we're seeing across readiness data. This slide focuses on our division's performance over time, showing the percentage of 11th grade students in BBC VBCPS who met the college board's college readiness benchmarks on the PSAT NMSQT over the last three years. In evidence-based reading and writing, we saw a meaningful increase this year from 57% last year to 63%. That's the highest benchmark performance we've seen in the past three years. In mathematics, the upward trend has been even more notable. Benchmark performance rose from 24% in 2022 23 to 35% this year. That's an 11 point gain over the last three years. While both areas show improvement, the results also highlight that math readiness continues to lag. Reading and writing. This final measure in the readiness section looks at credentiing assessments in
023our career and technical education programs. These assessments provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate job specific skills and in credentials that support both immediate employment and long-term career pathways. For each of the past three years, we have administered more than 16,000 assessments including program specific industry tests along with widely administered tests like the wise financial literacy assessment and the workplace readiness skills test. The chart shows the percentage of credentiing tests passed over the last three years. In 2022 23 82.1% of tests were passed. That rose slightly to 82.4% and increased again to 84% in 202425. These results reflect strong performance by our students and the continued efforts of our CTE educators to prepare students with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce and beyond. We just looked at credentiing assessment results across CTE
024as a whole. This slide offers a deeper look at the five program areas that make up our career and technical education offerings. These areas span a broad range of career fields from engineering and information technology to culinary arts, marketing, and skilled trades. Each is designed to equip students with real world skills and experience that can support both post-secary education and entry into the workforce. The chart on the left side of the slide shows the percent click. The chart on the left side of the slide shows the percentage of tests passed within each of the program areas in 2024 25. Only a single year of data is displayed because the tests administered from year to year can vary. As you can see, the percentage of tests passed range from approximately 70% for the program area of
025marketing education to a high of approximately 93% for trade and industrial education assessments. Overall, the data highlight the strength and diversity of our CTE programs and the critical role they play in preparing students for college careers and life beyond high school. To ensure all students are supported, we examine performance by student group. This helps us understand how different groups of students are experiencing our system and whether outcomes are consistent across the division. Rather than repeating earlier data, we're revisiting key measures through a group lens. You'll see data for state assessments, advanced coursework, and PSAT and MSQT benchmarks. One thing to note, the groups shown on each slide may vary slightly depending on how the data is reported by the state, the college board, or internal systems. We'll clarify each as we go, but the goal
026is the same, understanding where support and opportunity can be strengthened. This slide shows 202425 so passing rates by student group across reading, math, science, and history. The color gradient helps highlight patterns. Green indicates higher performance while yellow, orange, and red shows areas of lower performance. Students identified as Asian, and white had the highest passing rates across all subjects. Students identified as multi-racial and Hispanic showed relatively strong performance, generally closer to the higher performing groups. We continue to see performance gaps for students identified as black and for those who are economically disadvantaged with lower passing rates across most content areas. The widest gaps are among English language learners and students with disabilities, particularly in science and history. It's important to note that the pattern of results you see here and we'll see in the following slides
027where outcomes vary significantly by student group is not unique to our school division. Similar patterns appear across the state and nation. But just because these disparities are common doesn't make them acceptable. We remain deeply committed to understanding what's driving these gaps in our context and to taking action that ensures every student is fully supported to reach their maximum potential. This slide shows reading so passing rates for each student group for the last three years. Most groups have remained relatively consistent over this period. For example, Asian and white students continue to perform at high levels with consistent passing rates near or above 90%. Students identified as multi-racial have also maintained strong performance with passing rates holding in the mid 80s. We've seen a slight decline among Hispanic students this year, dropping from 78 to 75%. The
028performance of economically disadvantaged students has remained between 71 to 72% and the performance of black students remained between 66 and 67%. Reading performance among English language learners has declined after a brief improvement last year, dropping from 50 to 43%. Students with disabilities have followed a similar trend, falling from 49 to 44% this year. These patterns underscore the importance of early literacy support and consistent intervention as we continue into the second year of implementing the Virginia Literacy Act. Math performance trends by student group show a relatively stable pattern of results. Asian students have maintained a high level performance with a 91% passing rate each year. White students also continue to perform strongly with passing rates in the mid to upper 80s. Multi-racial students remained between 79 and 80%. Hispanic students have remained consistent at 73% across
029all three years. Passing rates for black students increased slightly in 23 24 before leveling off to 62%. The performance of economically disadvantaged students have remained in the mid60s range over the last three years. English language learners have stayed consistently at 56 to 57% while students with disabilities saw a slight increase in performance during the 23 24 school year followed by a slight decline ending at 43%. These results reinforce what we saw in the PSAT and MSQT benchmarks and earlier so data as part of why we've already begun revising our math course sequence to better align instruction and improve readiness for all learners. This slide shows science passing rates over the last three years by student group. Overall performance has been improving across nearly every group. Asian and white students continue to perform form at high
030levels with passing rates nearing 90%. Multi-racial and Hispanic students also show steady growth over the three-year span. Economically, disadvantaged students improved from 64 to 69% and black students from 56 to 62%. These are encouraging signs of progress, though gaps remain. English language learners saw a notable increase this year from 40 to 49%. And while that's still below the other groups, it marks the first meaningful gain in three years. Students with disabilities remain at 40% for the last two years. Since the current science SOS are aligned to the 2018 standards, this is now the third year we've assessed under the new expectations. Continued attention to instructional alignment and targeted support will be important to maintain and build on this progress. This slide shows history so passing rates by student group for the last three years. Asian
031and white students continue to perform at high levels with Asian students maintaining a passing rate of 91%. White students increasing from 82 to 85% this year. Hispanic and multi-racial students have shown growth with Hispanic students rising from 71 to 75% and multi-racial students from 76 to 79%. Economically disadvantaged students and black students both saw improvement this past year compared to the year prior with gains of four percentage points each. English language learners increased 44 to 50% this year. And while there's still a gap is encouraging to see movement and passing rates for students with disabilities remain between 37 and 38%. Moving beyond the SOS, we also monitor student access to and success and advanced coursework by student group. And this slide shows the percentage of secondary students in each group who successfully completed at least
032one advanced course for each of the three past years. Asian and white students consistently have the highest rates of advanced coursework completion, holding steady in the low to mid 80s for Asian students and mid70s for white students. Multi-racial students showed gradual increases rising from 67 to 70%. And the percentage of secondary Hispanic students successfully completing advanced courses remained between 61 and 62%. Black students have shown steady growth over the three years, increasing from 49 to 52%. And economically disadvantaged students also improved each year, reaching 56% in 2024 25. While participation and success in advanced coursework remains lower for students with disabilities, we've seen consistent year-over-year gains in this group from 24 to 28%. This data helps us track where students are accessing higher level learning opportunities and where we need to strengthen supports to expand
033access and promote success. This slide shows the three-year trends in PSAT and MSQT benchmark performance for evidence-based reading and writing. Asian students consistently have the highest performance and rose from 73 to 78% this year. White students also showed steady growth, increasing from 68 to 74%. Multi-racial students rebounded after a drop last year, increasing from 59 to 65%. Percentages of Hispanic students meeting the English reading and writing benchmark remained between 50 and 51%. And black students showed a significant improvement when comparing the results from last year to the two year prior years. The percentage of black students meeting the English reading and writing benchmark increased from 33 to 42%. These results help us understand how different student groups are progressing in college readiness, particularly in reading and writing. The gains this year, especially among black students,
034are encouraging, but continued attention is needed to close gaps and ensure more students are on track for success in college. Now, let's look at the percentage of students meeting the college board's benchmark for mathematics on the PSAT and MSQT over the last three years. As you can see on this slide, Asian students have shown strong growth, increasing from 45 to 61% since 22 23. White students have also made steady gains, rising from 31 to 44%. Hispanic students increased from 14 to 25% over the same period and black students from 7 to 15%. These are meaningful improvements, though the rates remain low and indicate a continued need for focused support. Multi-racial students saw some fluctuation down last year and back up to 35% this year. Overall, these results reinforce what we've said in other data or
035seen in other data. Mathematics readiness remains an area for sustained attention. Before we move into the final section, I want to pause and reflect on some of the key patterns we've seen across the data presented. In reading, so performance was generally stable, though some student groups declined. An area we'll be monitoring closely as we continue to implement the VA. In math, divisionwide so results have been relatively stable, but readiness indicators like the PSAT show that math proficiency remains low, especially for some student groups. This reinforces the importance of the math course sequencing revisions now underway. Science performance improved in 2023 and has st has held steady since then with most student groups showing gains. History showed improvement across nearly all student groups with the highest passing rates occurring in the most recent testing year. We
036also saw a gradual increase in advanced coursework completion which is encouraging as we continue efforts to expand access and support success in more rigorous classes. And finally, credentiing pass rates in our career and techn education programs remain high and are continuing to rise across most areas, reinforcing the strength of our pathways to workforce readiness. Today's presentation focused on giving you an early look at where we stand based on preliminary SL data for the most recent school year and other key indicators of student readiness. We reviewed performance by subject and student group as well as trends across multiple years. If the Virginia Department of Education follows the typical timeline, we expect official so passing rates to be released by the end of July. This will give us the ability to compare our performance to the state
037overall other local divisions and comparable school systems. By September, we anticipate receiving school level accountability designations through the state's updated school performance and support framework. Our goal is to return to the school board in October with a full public presentation that includes those designations and a more detailed view of school performance across the division in this first year under the new accountability system. As we continue into this next school year, our focus remains on using this data to inform action, not just interpretation. These results help us ask better questions, target support more precisely, and stay centered on what our students need to succeed. We'll continue to draw on the strategies outlined in Compass to 2030 to guide the kinds of changes this data calls for while keeping our efforts responsive and grounded. And as always,
038we'll monitor progress and make adjustments along the way to ensure our actions are meeting student needs. This concludes the presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have at this time. And I'm joined by a variety of colleagues who may be able to answer more specific questions. Thank you, Miss Melnight. Dr. Bicki, I um thank you specifically for the um the highlighted portion of the uh college readiness, the PSAT and the MM MMSQT. I really appreciate that highlight. We take a hit there every year and some of that information gets out to the public and we look really low and I think it's really important to remind the community that we test everybody. Um and as you stated uh you said that that is very uncommon everywhere else. And so, um, I hope that
039every time we get those test results that we remind everyone that we test everyone. Thank you for that. Um, and I just want to um, one reminder, you can either put yourself in line by hitting your right button or you can do a raised hand. Um, and Miss Rogers is next, followed by Dr. Green. Thanks so much. Um, first Dr. Banicki, thank you so much for this presentation. I really appreciate it. I have a quick question for you and then another question followup. Um, first of all, there was some discussion I guess amongst the community with regard to our um, elementary reading scores. Does pass does not passing an SOL equate to not being able to read? You just want no. Okay. I just want to make that clear for the community. Answer that shortly.
040If you want an expanded answer, I'll point to Dr. Kawuchcci. Either or. It doesn't matter. I just wanted people to be aware that not passing the so test as an elementary school student doesn't necessarily mean that you're incapable of of reading or completing the math. It these are these tests are challenging for our elementary school students. um many times they are not written at grade level and so our students sometimes struggle with the questions and not passing the so does not mean they don't have the skills and so I kind of wanted to get that out there because I did see a lot of people talking about whether or not you know the the pass rate doesn't actually mean our students inability to read it's the test rate is different from their ability or inability
041to read so I wanted to get that out there and then my other I guess comment is I just kind of wanted to direct my colleagues to slide 16 through 23 with all of this great um amazing um data that was presented to us. But I guess what my biggest concern is is that we can clearly see based on this data that our black students, our economically disadvantaged, um our students with disabilities, English language learners, as well as some of our um Hispanic students with some of our other performance group scores. They're the ones that need our support. So with the removal of our diversity, equity, inclusion, I'm not exactly sure how my colleagues expect Dr. Robertson to continue to support our students if we are not going to acknowledge and support them with diversity,
042equity, and inclusion. Um, this is data is extremely clear and it is extremely necessary so that all of the students in our school division are supported. And I love that Dr. Vanicki stated, "These results help us ask better questions. That's what our students need so that they can actually be supported and pass the tests and get the scores that we want them to get. But I am concerned that removal of diversity, equity, inclusion is going to hinder that process. Thank you, Dr. Green. Thank you. And thank you, Dr. Banicki, for that very thorough thorough presentation. Um my question is related to the slide that you had on the um PSAT scores and you don't need to go back to it. Uh what I wanted to know I remember when I was an employee um that
043we used to afford opportunities to students in other grade levels to also take the PSAT to help prepare them so that we could hopefully have a lot of national merit scholars uh help students start setting up for scholarship uh opportunities that were merit-based based on also their preliminary ary scores. Do we have any other groups of students outside of the 11th grade who are able to take the PSAT? 10th grade. PSAT 10. Okay. In spring. Yes. And in the P 10th graders take it in the spring. Yes. Yes. Okay. And and I the reason why I asked that I just did not want our community to think that it was just our 11th graders. And there was a time also sometimes that academy students in the ninth grade do they still have SS or it
044kind of varies. I'm getting this in the back. Okay. So that means no. I'm thinking that's means no. Yes. All right. Thank you. I was waiting for Dr. Robertson, I saw that your mic was on uh a moment ago. Did you have something to add? Well, I was going to um just comment on the the data broken down by student groups. Um and just clarify that the the previous office for diversity, equity, inclusion never had responsibility to make decisions based upon that data. What they did was they were involved with the discussions with the department of teaching and learning in the department of school leadership on how to address those particular student groups. Um although we have had a change with the office of diversity inclusion now to be the office of opportunity achievement the
045way that we use data has not changed. We'll still identify those students that are underperforming in various areas and we will target support for them whether that's over the summer and you'll hear about the large number of students we have taken advantage of our summer programs right now but also when the school year starts we can target those students right away for additional uh support and remediation through any number of mechanisms. So that work will not um stop. Um and yet having been in this position for a very long time um the gaps are very concerning to me because they have not closed uh to the extent that we would like them to close. So that's will continue to be a focus and we will continue to put opportunities in front of those students so
046that they can succeed. Thank you Miss Felton. Thank you Chair Brown. Uh Dr. Robinson, you brought you I wasn't going to say anything, but you brought it back when you use the word target and Dr. Banicki, thank you for that detail report. Thank you so much. And you also use the word monitoring, want to monitor the students. How will that be imple implemented with the students and and I guess Dr. Robinson hit on it a little bit and would be non-negotiable for all student when you know that they're at that at that gap uh point there. How will we do this monitoring for those students and making sure they get done for those students? We know that that's challenging the process of education. Yes. So, Miss Felton, I can take that one as well. Um
047earlier in the year um Mr. Delaney provided a presentation on the school support process that we use uh where we meet with schools, school leadership and teaching and learning and other departments will meet with all they'll review all schools data and meet with uh those schools with the most concerning data before the school year even starts to ensure that they have a targeted plan on how they're going to help uh every one of those students within those groups. And then throughout the year, you mentioned the term monitoring. Uh we monitor data from division benchmarks that we give, but also through state assessments that we give um throughout the year that give us an idea of where our kids are performing. Uh which is why I think even though some of the scores are concerning, we
048are seeing some growth, it's just not meeting our expectations. that that if if you're not hitting 70 to 80% you're not meeting our expectations and we have a lot of work to do. So that process will be ongoing and it is led by the department of school leadership and department of teaching and learning. Thank you Dr. Robertson. I just had to come back on that as well when I still have parents saying to me that uh they are not really aware of our summer programs and that their child is not meeting that standard of where they should be. When I have parents saying that to me, what else can we do to make sure that our parents are engaged with this as well? That their child is coming in and out of our school every
049day, all day, and still they're not getting the full reports. Is there something that we're lacking or something that we're just not meeting that core group? I'm still getting that question. Yeah. So, that's a great question. And in fact, my wife and I on our early morning walk today were talking about that. And um we do we do a number of things to make sure our parents are aware of how their children are doing. I mean, our parents can go into parent view on any given day and and see what their students are doing. We report cards, progress reports. Every one of my deathside chats has a component where letting the parents know uh their responsibility, what we're asking them to do and to contact their teachers or the school administration if they're concerned about
050their child's progress. Um and despite all that, Miss Felton, you are correct. There are some parents who will say, "I just didn't get it." So, that continues to be a challenge. We'll continue to push information out. I mean from elementary schools taking home those Friday folders which are still used sometimes. Uh we do have technology that allows a parent off a device to go in and see how their kids are doing. We just need parents to get in the habit of doing so and that's going to be something that we continue to work on. Mr. Cummings. Yeah. I'm not sure. Oh, sorry. What's up? Um, maybe Miss Dwire had her hand out before my button hit. I don't know. I thought I saw you. Do you want me to yield to you first or just
051go in the order? It's all right. All right. I I put her in line after you. So, cool. Just wanted to make sure. Um, so my question and first and foremost, I thank you for such a fantastic presentation. um along with you know the design of everything and the communication of you know the information and so I particularly am drawn to you know staying focused on what matters using data to inform action not just interpretation um keeping students at the center of our conversation and I'm specifically interested in you know our intervention type programs for these different populations our economically disadvantaged students or English language learners and I'm kind of curious curious if I know it's we're probably going to talk a little bit more about it during our retreat, but just with some of
052the federal cuts um where I read things like title 3A funding for English learner services, how is that going to impact from your perspective our intervention programs to help um help with supporting those students who we see have the biggest gaps? So, I think I'll take that one too. Y um at this particular point, the team and I met on Monday to go over uh the what came out of the federal freeze on funding right now and we are prepared to continue to provide quality services to students using carryover funds that are available to us and available to every school division. We, as we do in many cases, are really frugal and don't spend all of the grant money right away in case something happens. Right. This is the rainy day fund helping us out
053to get through this year uh to cover some of the the frozen funds. Um so at this point there's no adjustment to the plans that we had in place prior to last week to to support students. We'll have that for you tomorrow, Miss Millet, because I didn't I didn't bring those notes today. Miss Dwire. Yeah. My concern Miss Felton did bring up and I think that is the biggest area for me of concern is parental involvement. How do we keep our parents motivated and in the loop? Because they are the key to their child's success. and I had five. And I feel like I know firsthand our um and for our teachers, God bless you, um to continue to come up with innovative ways to keep the parents in the loop. That is the number
054one in my opinion for our students success. And thank you to all the teachers and thank you for the presentation. It was outstanding. Okay. Um, I have my name in next and so everyone that's in line had an opportunity. I just had a couple of comments. Um, my first one is in reference to slide 10. And I don't think you probably need to switch it to slide 10, but um it's talking about the PSAT and M NMSQT and how it's used to identify students for national merit and other scholarship opportunities. And um the reason that I bring that up is this has continually been something that we hear about, but I'm not 100% sure that the families in our um community are aware of I I know that we send out a couple of weeks
055before the PSATs to the families that were going to be doing them, but how are we letting families know that scholarship opport opportunities uh could arise from these these PSATs so that they know uh to make sure they're prepared, their students are prepared. So, Mr. Jameson, you want to feel that one, please? Good afternoon. So, that's part of the communication that we do put out each year. So the information that is shared with families includes what the test will cover. It covers the the usage of the set of said test as well as different outcomes that could occur as a result of students performance. So national merit scholarship is one of the pieces that's included in that communication. Uh there's also corporate scholarships just to share. So even though a student may not qualify for
056a national merit scholarship, there are the actual scholarship merit scholarship. There are then corporate scholarships related to it that scores can then be used to qualify for those. So we can easily continue to add the communication, work with principles to increase that communication, but that is what we currently put out through our school counselors as well as to the uh communications to our community. Okay. Um, and this isn't to say that it isn't going out, but um, I have a student that just graduated 11th grade, and I pay pretty careful attention to most of the things that come. And, um, I just I don't personally recall um, seeing it. Um, of course, I'm on the board, so I was aware that it was upcoming, but I thought that maybe that was an area where we
057could approve. I know that we offer that to all of our students, but I think when we're looking at these scores that if we are passing on the resources that families need to make sure that those students are prepared, I think that they may have better results. And so that's that's just the reason that I was mentioning that in particular. Um, and I'll I'll double check, but I definitely think that's an area and um for improvement there. And I appreciate the presentation and all the results. And um Dr. Robertson, I appreciate your recognition that you know, while we have areas where we're very strong and seeing a lot of growth, that um there's still room for improvement and that's that's always going to be what we seek to do as a school division is improve
058and make sure that our students are thriving. So, thank you. Um and I appreciate that. And with that, Miss Rogers. Okay. Thanks. One more question, Dr. Bankei, and it might not be available right now, but perhaps we can put it up. I'm wondering if we have um the data of We have right now three-year data by grade level, but do we have three-year data um by cohort? Meaning like the third graders of third grade three years ago, how did that group of students do in fourth grade and then in fifth grade? So we can compare the student results to their own results as each grade they go through each grade. Does that make sense? Yeah. You want to cohort look at performance. That would be perfect. Yes. I'm not promising anything. I'm just clarifying the
059question. Yes. Well, I think that it would make sense though, especially because, you know, we talk a lot about pandemic and what how it affected the students and it would be really good to be able to see how the students are doing as they move through our um grade levels and and be able to compare how they're doing to their last year scores. Yeah, we we have that interesting conversation often in O, Office of Research and Evaluation where we'll be like, where were these kids when? You know what I mean? when we see a result, we're like, where were these kids in kindergarten in the pandemic year? Were they okay? Yeah. So, and and again, I really don't have it now, but that we can make that available also to the public so that they
060can see we can also can compare our cohorts and see where um where the growth is for those students as well. So, Miss Raj, that's a great question. And if and to help answer that to uh Dr. Banick's point just so I she can't overpromise. So cohort requires that you start with a group of students and you just track those students, not the ones that transition in and out. However, if you go to the reading so slide, I think and I don't know what the number is because but it's one of the early slides. It's probably slide four. I can do it. See here I find the thing. Although that Miss Rogers, as you know from your work, that's not a true cohort. It does give you an idea because it is reading right I
061mean that's something we can make a comparison of in grade three and 22 23 it was 75% those students were then in grade four again supposedly they were in grade four all of them and they went to 83% and then supposedly they were all in grade five and went to 79%. It's probably cleaner to look at reading than than look at math because they students end up taking different math sequences, right? Um but we will look to see if we can get some type of cohort model. Um I will share this with you. Several years ago, we did the same thing with African-American male students, and we found those students that began with us in second grade and concluded with us in 12th grade outperform those students that were African-American male, but not with us
062all 10 years. So, yeah, it's a beautiful question and it makes sense. It's just never as satisfying as you think it's going to be over time because of attrition and because of all these strange rules of oh that was a year when the test wasn't administered right over time it starts to fall. It totally makes sense. We'll certainly look at what we can come up with uh to be able to answer the question but to miss Dr. Robertson's point it may not be nearly as satisfying as you might hope. All right. I appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. And um before we move on to the next presentation, you know, on that that theme, something was brought up that I had actually marked here when we were actually on that slide four looking to grade three.
063I actually had marked uh what grade they were in, you know, during the COVID years because I I saw that we had a little bit of a a drop. And um those would have been our students in 2122 that were in kindergarten. And so that's kind of what I was looking at right there because I know reading on grade level by grade three is so important. And um so I I was actually looking at that too because those were our kindergarteners and they were you know learning learning all of the reading stuff and skills um going through COVID. So um anyway, thank you. I appreciate this data and that presentation and you get another presentation. I see. So we are going to now move on to compass to 2030 a closer look. Yes. And we
064welcome Lisa Vanicki. Thank you very much. Thank you. I should adopt a different personality. Okay. Just to make it different for you. Just Yeah, there's still time. Don't worry. I'm sure she's in here. Okay. There we go. We're sorry. Okay. So, as we've just seen, our student achievement results give us a picture of where we're making progress and where focused improvement is still needed. This next presentation will take us deeper into how we're responding. We'll go beyond the big picture vision of Compass to 2030 and into the heart of how it's being implemented. We'll take a closer look at how we're translating that vision into focused action and how those actions are intended to create lasting impact in our schools, for our staff, and especially for our students. You will hear me return to this
065phrase throughout this presentation, vision to action to impact. That's because that's the real work. Casting a bold vision is just the beginning. The real challenge is turning that vision into action and doing so in a way that results in meaningful impact. To begin, let's briefly revisit the vision of Compass to 2030 and how it was developed. The development of Compass to 2030 began with extensive community input through surveys, focus groups, and a strategic planning committee that represented a cross-section, a wide cross-section of our division. That collaborative foundation helped shape a plan that reflects both our shared aspirations and a practical realities of public education. While elements of the framework were later revised to reflect board direction, the core goals and strategies continue to align with the input we heard from students, staff, families, and community
066members. Ultimately, the work resulted in five broad goals, each supported by specific feasible strategies, key navigational markers to track progress, and a revised future ready profile that reflects what it means for all K to2 students to be prepared for the future. These are the key contributors who shaped the direction of compass to 2030. The ad hoc committee helped define the goals and recommended revisions to the graduate profile based on community input feedback. Central office leaders drafted the strategies to support the goals and the framework and the compass collaborative made up of principal representatives and senior leadership helped us revise the future ready profile. Initially, our first goal is to challenge and support each student to excel academically and gain the skills and attributes outlined in the VBCPS future ready profile to successfully navigate future pathways.
067The strategies for goal one emphasize evidence-based differentiated instruction that meets the needs of all learners, inclusive teaching that reflects diverse perspectives, and clear communication about the full range of division programs. We're also ensuring students build essential financial, digital, and media literacy skills, engage in future learning experiences, and explore meaningful pathways to college, career, or military service. Key navigational markers include tracking the percentage of students meeting grade level expectations in reading and math, enrolling in advanced courses, and having a solid plan postgraduation. We also have a marker strategically focused on students with disabilities looking at the percentage that graduate on time with standard or advanced diplomas. Our second goal is to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment that supports the well-being of students and strengthens their social emotional skills. They need to be resilient individuals
068and responsible leaders. strategy for goal two focus on helping students strengthen skills like self-awareness, self-management, and responsible decision-making. We're also working to build a stronger sense of belonging through mentorship, student leadership, and inclusive activities. We're expanding opportunities for student voice, improving access to academic, behavioral, and social emotional supports, and increasing awareness around mental health to ensure students and families know where to turn when help is needed. Key navigational markers include a variety of markers including students perceptions of safety, trusted adults, participation in activities and clubs, overall sense of belonging as well as attendance. The third goal of Compass to 2030 is to enhance and sustain a positive work culture and climate that values and invests in recruiting a highquality workforce exemplifying the division's core values. For goal three, we're focused on strengthening our workforce by
069supporting and retaining provisional licensed teachers, building a clear advancement pathway and expanding professional learning, especially for support staff. We're also prioritizing prioritizing employee well-being, increasing recognition across roles, and ensuring every staff member is equipped to support every learner. Our key navigational markers include job satisfaction, perceptions of professional learning opportunities, awareness of health and wellness resources, teacher retention rate, and vacancy rates overall. The fourth goal of the framework is to cultivate multi mutually supportive partnerships among family schools in the community to support student achievement and well-being, enhance real world learning, and broaden opportunities for career exploration and experience. For goal four, we're focused on building strong partnerships with families and the community. That means keeping communication clear and accessible, offering information in families preferred languages, and connecting them to the right resources. We're planning events to
070strengthen school community ties, expanding rural world learning through business partnerships, removing barriers to engagement, and working with partners to support students and families alike. Key navigational markers include family awareness of engagement opportunities, satisfaction with involvement opportunities, as well as real world learning experiences provided to our students, and the percent of graduates participating in work-based or service learning experiences. The fifth and final goal of Compass 2030 is to pursue the effective and efficient use of division resources, operations, and processes to best meet the needs of students and staff. For goal five, we're focused on protecting our systems and spaces, improving efficiency, and being good stewards of our resources. That means promoting safety across buildings and technology, streamlining operations, and tracking time and cost savings. We're also using national best practices to guide smart financial planning and
071grounding our decisions in clear, transparent principles for resource use across the division. Key navigational markers include the percentage of schools meeting or exceeding state accountability and accreditation standards, stakeholder satisfaction with the resources available in their schools, as well as student and parent perceptions of students educational experience and staff perceptions of workplace safety. As noted earlier, compass to 2030 planning process also led us to take a closer look at our graduate profile. We heard consistent feedback. It needed to be streamlined with fewer attributes, simpler descriptions, and language that made sense for younger students. There was also concern about the word graduate and the graduation cap icon. Both gave the impression that the profile was meant only for high schoolers, but that was never the intent. This profile is meant to answer a simple but powerful question.
072What skills do students need to be successful now and in the future? It's designed to highlight durable skills, skills that students can begin developing in the earliest grades and continue building throughout their educational journey. They build on, not replace the academic foundations of reading, writing, and math. And research shows these are exactly the kind of skills employers, colleges, and the military are seeking. Whether students choose to be enrolled, enlisted, or employed after graduation, these skills help ensure they're truly ready for what comes next. You should have No, that's not yet. To ensure is it? No. To ensure the revised profile truly reflected what matters to students, not just adults, we engaged them directly in the process. Gathering their feedback wasn't just about checking a box. It was a deliberate step toward shared meaning making, inviting
073students to help shape the very definition of what it means to be future ready. Last winter, I attended principal league meetings and I invited all schools to gather input from a small group of students. I worked with the Compass Collaborative to develop simple protocols that could be used to gather feedback to make sure it would not be a heavy lift for schools that decided to participate and make sure the language of the protocol was appropriate for the grade level. More than 450 students across 26 school goals provided feedback by responding to two key questions as it related to each of the attributes in the profile. What does this attribute mean to you and why is it important? As part of the protocol for the middle and high school students, they were given an exit ticket
074and asked to rate how well the profile captured what students need to succeed in college, career, and life on a five-point scale where one is not at all and five was extremely well. And as you can see, yeah, here we go. As you can see in the chart, a large majority of middle and high school students expressed favorable ratings of the profile. Student responses and the responses received from teacher representatives were used to develop the descriptors in the final future ready profiles. With the assistance of Compass Collaborative, the VBCPS future ready profile was finalized. It now exists as a single visual with clear studentfriendly definitions differentiated by grade level. It provides a common language for the attributes we want all students to develop by the time they graduate. And it's written in a way students
075understand and connect with. You should have copies of the level specific future ready profiles in your materials for your reference. Yeah, great. We got three copies. Three copies. See the difference. And now I see the difference. There's a difference. The one that we're using. They're all all of them. Three different grade levels. Okay. Elementary, middle. Yeah. And you'll know the difference between them. Um, one way is on the I believe it's on the back. Really small says elementary, middle, high. But the descriptors are also different on the second side. There we go. Yeah. So, thank you. Gathering and using student feedback wasn't the only way we created shared meaning. In fact, the most powerful ways to create shared meaning and to move the work forward is through collaborative action planning. This process involved convening select
076central office administrators, people I refer to as strategy leads, with the responsibility for the strategies in the framework and asking them to translate their assigned strategy into specific achievable steps to ensure progress and accountability. It involves identifying what we hope to accomplish with respect to a specific strategy over the course of the upcoming year. then identifying three to five key milestones along the way with specific actions needed to reach the milestones. It also includes specifying a timeline and assigning ownership for each step. Once the action plans were drafted, strategy leads looked across the plans to identify where alignment was needed and to flag possible actions that would likely require school level attention. Those ideas were shared with the Compass Collaborative, our cross-section of principles for input. They had the opportunity to ask questions and suggest
077adjustments based on their school level lens. Senior staff then reviewed the collaborative feedback and surfaced additional insights or implications for implementation. The strategy leads used all of this feedback to refine their recommendations for what should rise to the level of divisionwide school priorities in 202526. Finally, all three groups, strategy leads, principles, and senior staff were brought together to finalize the strategic priorities for schools for the coming year. This process is intentionally operational, focused on alignment, feasibility, and clarity for schools. The identified priorities for schools became what we call the compass to 2030 strategic action agenda. It is how we make the work of implementing a five-year framework manageable by identifying annual priorities for schools, a discipline we've been engaging in since 2015. The strategic action agenda is a critical piece of the puzzle because it
078gives us focus. It helps us break a five-year vision into a clear annual priorities for schools. But at the end of the day, even the best plan is just a plan. What matters most is what we do with it. How we show up, follow through, and stay focused. That's the heart of relentless execution, translating priorities into practice consistently and collectively. The annual strategic action agenda becomes the division roadmap for executing the strategic framework within our schools. It is provided to school administrators well in advance of the new school year. School leadership shares what is expected of schools and what schools can expect from central support. Let's take a closer look at the conference of 2030 strategic action agenda for the 202526 school year. As you will see, one of the core execution priorities is bringing
079the future ready profile to life in every school. We're doing that by embedding it in daily instruction, designing deeper learning experiences that develop these attributes, and expanding opportunities for students to build critical thinking, including through digital citizenship, computer science, and AI integration. You'll hear more about the plans related to AI in upcoming retreat presentation by Mr. Den and Dr. Kuchi. Another key focus is strengthening tier one instruction, the foundation of student success. That includes ensuring learning is differentiated to meet students needs and grounded in evidence-based practices. A major emphasis is on the use of clear learning intentions and success criteria. Strategies with a strong research base. When students understand what they're learning, why it matters, and what success looks like, their engagement and achievement improve significantly. We're also using the Synergy MTSS module to monitor
080progress, listening to students to strengthen belonging and making sure students and families are connected to the right mental health supports when needed. To support that work, we're investing in the adults. This includes aligned job embedded professional learning, instructional coaching, and professional learning communities, PLC's that are contentrich and inquirybased. The goal is to ensure educators have what they need to help every student learn and grow. We're also deepening partnerships with families and community organizations. This year, we're introducing the future ready profile to families and expanding efforts to engage families as partners with focused support from our office of family and community engagement. We believe that when families understand the why and feel connected to the how, they become powerful allies in student success. We want to communicate the purpose of the future ready profile and how
081it supports student success. Relentless execution means we don't treat professional learning as an event is part of the culture. From the leadership conference to targeted sessions throughout the year, we're offering both essential and choice-based learning for all staff with coaching and followup to sustain it. Driving clarity through the system doesn't stop at the strategic action agenda. Under the guidance of the Department of School Leadership, several years ago, schools started developing concept maps. The concept maps, and you have examples of that in your handouts, our one-page summary of the school's mission, vision, priorities for the year aligned with the strategic action agenda, but specific to the school. The concept map creates shared language and common understanding within a school. From there, schools engage in a planning process to create their plan for continuous improvement or PCI,
082which involves setting goals, identifying strategies, and monitoring progress. This creates a bridge between the division's priorities and each school's day-to-day work, ensuring alignment without losing the local school context. The PCI in turn drives what schools focus on in classroom observations and feedback. This is where we see the full execution cycle from division priorities to school plans to what actually happens in the classroom. It's how we ensure alignment, support, and improvement. Not just on paper, what we're teaching and learning take place every day. Vision casting is just the beginning. Shared meaning fuels shared action. Real impact requires relentless execution. Compass of 2030 is about staying focused on what matters and doing that work together with clarity and commitment. As I wrap up, I have a few next steps to share, including that we'll continue the launch
083of the framework next week at the leadership conference. And in August with the start of the school year, we'll work with departments, schools, and administrators to ensure a smooth roll out to our schools and community. We'll also be revisiting our action plans on an ongoing basis as we will need to begin thinking about the 202627 school year given the budgeting timeline and process. We began gathering baseline data for the key navigational markers this past year and plan to share the information with the school board this coming fall as part of a workshop presentation. This format will allow time for discussion about whether the board would like to establish benchmarks around the markers. And finally, as we move forward, you can expect to see departments and offices deliberately linking their updates to the strategic framework to
084demonstrate alignment with our long-term goals. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit bbschools.com to see how easy it is to access information related to our strategic plan. It's now accessible as one of the quick buttons on the homepage. See it here? Strategic plan. Thank you for joining me in taking a closer look at Compass of 2030. This concludes my presentation and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Miss Melnik. So, not going to lie, this this work is incredibly difficult, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate you and everyone that's working with you. It's often work that is um overlooked and underappreciated. Um, and you went through this pretty fast, but I wrote down some key phrases that that you said that I think are really, really important.
085Um, I loved that you said, "Casting a bold vision is just the beginning." I mean, that just proves just how much this work means to you and to the division and and um what we're expecting. Um I really appreciate this um graduate profile and I was wondering if I was supposed to take one of these and pass it down um because I had three. But there it all says the same thing in a different way. And I love that so much being an elementary teacher. Um um where it says work for elementary work well with others by sharing ideas, listening and solving problems together, but at the high school level it, you know, it's written for a high schooler. Clearly express ideas, actively listen, consider different viewpoints, and work together to achieve common goals. So,
086I I really appreciate that that that's been separated, if you will. Um, I love relentless execution. I I I love that term. Um um I loved that to support that work that we're supporting um that we're investing in the adults. That is such an important part, especially piggybacking on what we just learned um with our test scores. what exactly that means. And of course that means um adults doing more for children and I just appreciate that. Um and then of course translating that to families when families understand the why they become powerful allies. And so um and then lastly that's just so important but lastly the concept maps for mission and vision for each school. And I think that's the most important part is is that um we're allowing each school because each school is
087different, right? They all have something special and something different that um each school is is creating their own their own concept map. And um my intention this next year when we visit schools um is a lot of the principles would give them, but I'm going to take a new one and and really look at that. And then I can't wait till we can hang our um our uh picture back on the wall with all the new stuff. So in the in the boardroom, but thank you Dr. Bicki um for for leading this incredible effort. it does not go unnoticed with me. Thanks. Thank you. I just want to say thank you to all the schools that um and students that participated in providing feedback and input into the development of the profile. Mo probably one
088of the most rewarding things I did this year besides working on the framework was meeting with students and hearing them talk about what it means to be a future ready student. Miss Rogers. Thanks Dr. Banicki. And thank you Mrs. Brown. Um, I just had a couple of, I guess, questions or comments maybe. Um, piggybacking off of what Mrs. Melick said about the concept maps for each school. Um, does someone review each school's concept map to ensure alignment and how does that process work? Mr. Delay, he's coming forward because he's afraid I'm going to answer. I'm not afraid. I'm certainly not afraid either. I'm always looking forward to the unpredict unpredictability of our answer. Um, as as we've talked about in the you saw the funnel that goes through there and you heard Dr. Robertson share
089earlier about the school support process. Yes, we review all the concept maps uh Dr. Broward, Dr. Hamlin and her team and Dr. Smith do their onetoone meetings over the summer with principles following the leadership conferences when they'll start to draft the new ones. So, in the next couple of weeks, we asked them to really work through that with their instructional leadership team. So the entire you know the teacher leaders are involved in that process. So yes we we find great value in those concept maps. It's not just a document to post somewhere. It's something to really believe in. So we ensure it's aligned. Okay. Perfect. And then I guess I don't know if you're going to take this Dr. Bye whoever. Um so relentless execution. Um I'm I'm going to be honest. I'm on the
090fence on it and only because I absolutely believe that it is important to be relentless. But I also believe that our teachers are relentless and they're exhausted and it seems like I I I am concerned on the messaging for them because they're the ones that are going to have to do the work that we're that it's not too much. But my real question is about the very bottom is observation and feedback. Right now, the teachers have to do talent ed and and and I'm wondering how all of this is going to morph our talent ed and our observations so that everything is aligned and that we're not doing are asking our teachers for all of this paperwork. Um that we can streamline it so it's easier for them and that everything is uh I guess
091a neater package. Does that make sense? Yeah, I think it's a great question because the alignment piece doesn't just apply to teachers, it's the administration as well. And often times we talk about what we put on teachers and we put a ton on our administrators. So when you look at talent ed for example, they have the greatest level of lift with the amount they do. So we've really worked with them on the observation feedback. One to make sure it's aligned to that concept map or the high levels of tier one instruction. What's going on the PLC is being applied in the classroom and that feedback shows that so it makes sense to the teacher. This is what we've talked about now. This is what you're coaching me on. Very much like an athletic realm on
092on that piece. We've worked over the last couple of years to really streamline the feedback that's provided to make sure it is actionable and that it's valuable to all teachers when they receive it. So that funnel that you see is really our operational component across all levels of central support and the school building on that alignment piece because as you talk about that pursuit is there. So you asked about the communication. When you look at that strategic action agenda and when you look at the strategic plan, there's an areas where you can say we can do some of this right now and there's others we could rush to failure if that relentless pursuit is not done in a very strategic way. So we share much of what you're asking us in terms of working with
093our principles to be patient in areas where things need to develop and other areas that we can really attack in terms of student data like what Dr. Robertson shared and what Miss Feldman asked about around targeted supports. we can hit some of those very quickly. Tier one instruction involves a lot of collaboration, a lot of discussion, a lot of alignment questions. So, we that relentless pursuit goes on in more of a marathon fashion versus a sprint if that analogy works for you. Yeah. I just want to make sure that we're not like that our talent ed is going to be streamlined. Again, I've done it. It can be overwhelming. a lot of um data and things especially at the beginning of the year that we don't really have and and you know there's due dates
094and so I want to make sure that our we're not that we're not overburdening our teachers in paperwork and all of that but that we have everything streamlined and it's an easier process. I would agree that package is what you said is very important. If what I'm putting in talent is that what we're also talking about throughout the year and we really work on that. Yes, very much so. We work on that component often with our leaders. Okay, Mr. Cummings. Yeah, thank you so much again for sharing and you know, as Miss Melnik said, what a fantastic, you know, document to drive, you know, the future and or the future organization and growth of our school system. And some of the key things that, you know, as I was reading through and as you were
095talking that I was thinking that stood out to me and excited me is just the level of detail within uh the navigational markers. Um, and I love some of these things that we're going to be working towards. you know, from our student sense of belonging to our academic outputs of our students to, you know, our families being involved more to our graduates participating in service learning experiences. Um, and I think these are all fantastic and I'm I'm kind of curious. You touched on it just a little bit uh where you talked about having a workshop at uh or reporting on metrics at one of our workshops, but what does the cadence of delivery look like to both the schoolboard and to the public of you know, are we on target for these key navigational markers?
096Um, I'd be really kind of curious just to learn a little more about the reporting cadence um, uh, of, you know, when we'll receive information. And, you know, when I think about an ideal world, you know, one of the things I loved about the equity dashboard is that you could just go in, click, and see uh, how information was and what the outputs were and and whatnot. And that was available to any, you know, member of our community in um, Virginia Beach. I'd love to see if possible. I also understand that there's bandwidth with this, but if possible if such a thing could be implemented, but I'm curious about the cadence. And then I'm also as I'm looking at value and investment in staff, I would probably lean in a little bit because I'm kind
097of curious where we can add in a navigational marker around competitive pay um for our teachers just as I know that it's a a topic that comes up a lot and I would love for us as an organization in a school system to think through that and how we can you know track that as part of our our um our key goals. But yeah, I'd be kind of curious just to hear a little more about just the cadence of reporting that we should anticipate. Sure. So, um, given the nature of a lot of the data, it is not like a it's not a some it's pretty static data, right? Because some of it is survey data, some of it is achievement data, which is based on a particular assessment. So based on prior results, typically
098there is an update that is available by the um end of the school year and then again in the later fall would be at least twice a year where there are updates available and it can certainly be done. We we are looking at can we do more of a dashboard look to it uh than what we've done in the past with the navigational markers which has been more of a flat file like it's currently available. Well, no, we've changed to our new framework um to give it more of a dashboard look like the what we now call the VBCPS data dashboard which is available on vbschools.com. What was the equity dashboard is the VBCPS data dashboard with modifications is available on vbschools.com to give it more of a dashboard look and make it more something
099people can find. We're looking at a over uh a bit of an overhaul of our data site because there are variety of data sources available on one site. Yeah, Mr. Cummings, if if I can add um to because again you you make a you ask a good question. So, I'm just going to use goal two as an example of key navigational markers to your question about cadence. Percentage of students reporting school is safe. That's a a one-time survey that we give to kids each year. Percent of students reporting they have a trusted adult to school. Same thing. However, percent of students participating extracurricular activities and clubs, we can provide you that data bath season which which I did this year. Percent of students um with 90% or higher attendance, we track that monthly. So some
100of the data elements are available regularly and some of those data elements are once a year. And then the other part is and you mentioned teachers a competitive salary. We measure those things too. So one of the discussions we had within this process that Dr. Ban Banicki described when she had the slide where it looked like we were serpentining around um there were a number of navigational markers we could have considered to post for each of the goals. Um these this what we settled on but those other data elements are really important. So Dr. Tropman probably has a slide tomorrow in which shows you where we are in Virginia Beach City public schools in terms of starting salary and that's something that uh human resources brings forward every year as the budget deliberate as the
101board budgets deliberates on the budget process. So um I hope that helps. Yeah, that helps so much. I think it's I mean I'm excited to see I think as we sit here next year and looking at you know what we anticipate as key navigational markers and then reviewing where how we're doing as an organization and our health. I think that's personally I mean I find that exciting to to look at and whatnot. I'll also mention Dr. Dr. Banicki um noted the where cups 2030 lives on our website. So that was a change and that was a change as a result of a conversation Mr. Ken and I had where he shared u another division in Virginia that was more forwardf facing in their placement of the strategic framework. So work with Nicole and her team
102and Dr. Banicki and Mr. Den uh we've our our compass of 2030 information is front and center now. There's you don't have to do any clicking to find it. All right, thank you. Um, I really love this. I love that we're differentiating based on school level and um, I think this is going to make it a lot easier for our students as they progress through. So, I really love your work here. I appreciate all the work that you've done and I don't want to put the cart before the horse because I know we're going to have an AI update. However, um sort of related, right, because it's in in our markers and um so are there any plans to embed AI into the curriculum for 2526 school year? notes uh high school students and teachers
103and so I just have some curiosity about that if that's a David Den question I'm fine to wait well that is something that will be addressed in the next presentation okay all right um as you just mentioned that this is going to come up at the leadership conference and our school board hasn't taken a formal stance on how we're going to do AI and so I was just curious how we're going to implement ment that when the school board hasn't weighed in exactly. So, um I will await um our presentation on AI to ask those questions. All right, it's a perfect segway segue. Um so, let's just do a quick five minute recess since we're running just a little bit ahead of schedule and we will be back at uh let's let's do 2:10 actually.
104So, we'll we'll reconvene at 210. Thank you. instructional technology update, artificial intelligence and Chromebook usage. We welcome David Den, Chief Information Officer, and Dr. Danielle Kluchi, Chief Academic Officer. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. All right, as you can see from the title slide, we're going to start this afternoon with an update on artificial intelligence. What's happened with artificial intelligence over the course of uh the last year, what we can predict for the near future. After that, Dr. Kawuchcci will bring in her instructional expertise to help us think about how we're incorporating digital citizenship and student safety into the classroom. As we're talking about student safety, we're going to review some of the student screen time information that we provided for you back in February. And then finally, Dr. Kuchi will give
105us a brief update on the newly released VDOE, computer science integration standards. I know we've got a lot. So, I ran into the uh culinary services team on the in the hallway on the way uh out of here and they assured me they put a magic ingredient in the lunch to make sure you don't get that afternoon crash. All right, let's talk about artificial intelligence. So, over the past year, I'm sure that you guys have seen AI is everywhere. Uh there is a new feature update that's released every single week. I'm sure that many of you may have been in those conversations where you're having a meal with someone and they say, you know, I just use chat GPT for blah blah blah blah blah every day. And and so these things are happening at
106a very very rapid rate. Uh, I can reliably say that it's no exagger it's no exaggeration that AI is moving faster than any technology in education today. But so that we're all starting from the same place, let's review how we define artificial intelligence. So artificial intelligence is a collection of technologies, software and data that make it appear that a computing device is intelligent. It appears to give a machine the ability to perform the cognitive functions we associate with human minds such as perceiving, reasoning, and learning. As AI technologies continue to mature, experts have separated the types of AI into three basic categories. You have narrow AI, general AI, and super AI. You've all likely already experienced narrow AI. It is the systems that provide you with internet search results or suggest shows that you might
107like on Netflix or on YouTube. General AI systems are Chat GPT or Gemini. We've seen tremendous advances in these systems over the past two years, and it seems like there's still a lot more to come. At this point, super AI is the stuff of science fiction. We're starting to see a future where such technology may become a reality. We're going to spend our time talking about general AI as this is where the most significant development is happening right now and where we have the most direct nearterm impact on education. Over the past two years, I've shown you that generative AI has an incredible ability to generate very realistic media. A year ago, we can no longer look at a picture and reliably know if it was a a real picture or one generated by AI.
108In case you've never listened to AI generated music before, here's a little clip. [Music] So, we're not talking about top 10 material here at this point, but my point in that little demonstration was that took me all of 30 seconds to generate. Very easy to do, easy uh in any which way that you look at it. I wanted you to understand and experience the types of things that are available to our students. So that was two years ago and at that time we told you and everyone said this is the worst that AI will ever be. So, a few weeks ago, Google updated their AI video generation tool called Google VO, and it can generate fullblown videos now with audio using simple props. Try these new painkillers. They help a lot. The new GMAX shoes.
109You go so fast in these. This bag is available for my subscribers. link below. So, very generic videos, but it shows you the capability that's available today using simple prompts. A few sentences to indicate what you'd like AI to generate and it can go ahead and generate that quality video very, very quickly. I can use similar technology to let an AI avatar do the talking for me in a presentation if I wanted to. Thanks, Mr. Den. Hi there, everyone. My name is Abby and you guessed it, I'm an AI avatar. Many of us and certainly our students live in a very digital world. Multiple research firms and sources said that Gen Z and millennials get much of their news from social media platforms. Here's Ryan to tell us a little bit more about the research.
110Hey there, Abby. We all know that everything around social media changes quickly. But even as recent as 2022, research from Deote said that 51% of Gen Z teens get their news from social media feeds, placing it above other sources like TV news and news websites. In July of that same year, a study by McKenzie arrived at the same conclusion. They said that at least 50% of Gen Z erds see news on social media daily and up to 15% of people aged 18 to 24 regularly get their news from Tik Tok. Finally, to round out our research, we found that the American Press Institute, from which we get AP News, came to the same conclusion in August of 22. They said social media platforms prevail over traditional sources among Gen Z and millennials. So, as you
111can see, Abby, it's clear that where the younger generations get their news is shifting from previous generations. Thanks, Ryan. I guess Bob Dylan was right. The times they are a change in. A few minutes ago, Mr. Ding showed us very realistic AI generated videos and now this example using AI avatars. Through the power of generative AI, it's become so easy to create very realistic digital media. And remember, this is the worst it will ever be. So the question needs to be considered. How will we recognize truth from fake news? This is precisely why we need to weave the digital citizenship and online student safety lessons into instruction. As Dr. Kawuchcci will explain in more detail, they're vitally important to help students develop the critical thinking skills they'll need to navigate the digital world ahead. Back
112to you, Mr. Den. So what's really interesting about that technology is today or in the traditional technologies you would need to have someone sit in front of a camera. You would need to have an editing team edit that content, put it together and so forth. If I wanted to change the script on that particular uh AI avatar, I could literally simply go into a website, change the script to what I wanted to say, hit publish, and a whole new video is generated, updating all of the content or how and what the avatar says takes minutes. So, this type of technology can be used for things like staff training, employee onboarding, or new family orientation because I could go ahead and show this in eight different languages if I wanted to. In the past year, we've
113seen the introduction of AI agents, systems that can independently plan and reason and act with very little human input. This is called agentic AI where multiple AI specialists can work together to achieve a goal. So we naturally do this as human beings as well. So if we're in a military team for example, there are specialists, there's a communication specialist, there is a computer specialist, there is a uh and a a well there's a number of other things. We do this in school buildings as well. We have APs who specialize in their role. We have principles who specialize in their role. We have teachers who specialize in their role. We're bringing the same types of models to bear with AI technologies to chunk out large problems and make them smaller so the AIs can hand off
114tasks to each other and be able to accomplish large tasks. So we can use technologies uh sorry just finished that. So perhaps you'll remember the breakthrough presentation that Steve Jobs did when he introduced the iPhone. So under his leadership, Apple said, "You don't know that you need this yet." And today, what is it about about a decade afterwards, every single one of us has this device. We literally almost every single one of us we wake up first thing in the morning we open this up to see what do I need to know to get my day started. Similarly we have a lot of technology companies right now betting that they can create AI technologies that we don't know that we need yet and that is in the form of AI assistance. So let's have a
115quick AI assistant conversation. I live in a uh area where we have a lot of military uh families. As the leadership team of a K12 institution, can you give me some ideas on how we might be able to better engage our military families? Absolutely. Military families often face unique challenges like frequent relocations and deployments. So building a supportive community can make a huge difference. You could consider setting up a dedicated liaison or support group that specifically addresses their needs, hosting events that celebrate. And so I'm interrupting it, but you can see this type of AI assistant technology is there for you to interact with, to talk with, and simply ask any types of questions. I can in my commute into the office in the morning have a conversation uh with this type of technology for
11620 minutes about any topic that I would like and it can provide intelligent feedback for me on whatever I'd like to talk about. So that AI assistant technology is the next big stage in uh in in AI really because they're building on a foundation where all of us have a device that has this connect uh connectivity and then to be able to use that with AI technology layered on top of it. So, So in that example, they're actually using smart glasses or smart eyeear to be able to connect to an AI that can interact with you and be able to see what it is that you're seeing. So, as you can see, lots of investment is happening across the tech industry in AI capabilities. We've also seen both the federal and the state government creating
117policy advancing the use of AI. At the federal level, President Trump released an executive order in April titled Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth. I'm going to paraphrase some of this just for the sake of time. The executive order establishes a White House task force on AI education to coordinate a nationwide strategy for integrating AI literacy across K12 higher education and teacher training. They'd like to fasttrack innovation among students and educators to develop AI curricula and teacher development programs. The order also directs US resources to emphasize AI proficiency to ensure an AI ready workforce, preserving the US's leadership in emerging technologies. In January of 2024, Governor Ynan released executive order 30 directing VDOE to provide tools and guidance for AI in education. Section three of the executive order reads that they recognize the dual
118nature both the opportunities and the risks of this developing technology in education. K12 schools and postsecary institutions must embrace innovation, experimentation, and new educational opportunities for students as well as ensure appropriate guard rails and necessary constraints exist to safeguard individual data privacy and mitigate discriminatory outcomes. Governing boards and system leaders at every education level require flexibility to offer different pathways for their institutions and school-based and schools based on their readiness and willingness to integrate this technology while also prioritizing training for students, educators, and faculty to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI technology. In the last sentence, the governor highlights the why behind this order, which is very much in sync with the federal mandate to prepare students with the knowledge and competencies and skills for successful careers that utilize AI technology. Now, we're
119already seeing demands for AI skills in the job market. According to recent job market analytics and various labor reports, AI related job listings have skyrocketed worldwide. Nearly one in four tech jobs now explicitly seeks AI skills. In fact, AI roles make up roughly 19% of all tech jobs that are posted today. More than double what that was in in 2022. Employers are increasingly asking technology hires, "Do you know how to work with AI?" as AI integration becomes a priority across those roles. But it's not just for tech jobs. We're seeing broad demand for AI skills across many industries and roles. So, we recognize that we have a responsibility to prepare our students to be future ready. We've highlighted it in our future ready profile that Dr. Banicki just shared with you. Companies are telling us
120that they expect applicants to have AI skills and government policy is providing direction with guidance and investment instructing us to teach students how to effectively use AI responsibly and ethically. Even as so many indicators are pointing towards a future where AI technologies will be as commonplace as having internet access, it can be hard to see how this might look in the classroom. Imagine if somebody came to you 30 years ago and told you that this internet thing is going to revolutionize teaching and your students experience. You might be having a hard time thinking or imagining about what is that going to look like? What's that going to feel like? Well, over 250 schools around the country have already been experimenting with AI tools in classrooms. And we're going to watch a video here that shows
121what this looks like. Now while this school is using an AI tool called K Migo, we may not ultimately be using this particular tool, but we expect these uh types of capabilities to be available in AI tools in general. I hope that this has been helpful to try to understand and imagine how these technologies might be used in the classroom, how they might intersect with our work in education. Thank you, David. never stop impressing me with your knowledge. I'm very grateful for you. Good afternoon everyone. Um this is mind-boggling I know and we've been talking about it for the past few years. I think this is the third retreat that we have dedicated to time on AI and what I appreciate is that we've been very careful and we've been very deliberate and that you
122have given us time to learn and study and analyze the guidelines from the federal government to the state um with our own values as well. And so I hope that this presentation will be helpful and will allow uh the opportunity for you to ask any questions that are on your mind. So as I said our division has taken a very deliberate approach prioritizing understanding responsibility and alignment with our educational values with students at the center. We believe thoughtful adoption matters more than early adoption. know that Virginia has updated guidance for AI, internet safety, and digital literacy over the last year and a half. We feel we have a lot more clarity now, even though the technology continues to emerge. And we have even drafted an updated policy and regulation for digital literacy and internet safety
123based on the state's model policy, which is in your schoolboard materials and which will be reviewed by the PRC in July. Recall the Department of Teaching and Learning briefed the school board in February on our technology integration strategies, stressing that technology tools are only encouraged by the Department of Teaching and Learning and School Leadership when they truly enhance the learning experience of our students. This approach highlights our commitment to digital citizenship, aligning with state guidelines to help students make informed online choices and use technology responsibly. We concluded that presentation by sharing the Department of Technology and Instructional Technology team's next steps, which included a few of the items you see displayed here. I'll pause a moment so you can view those. Today I will provide another update related to these items and explain how we're
124we are working to ensure we are aligned to the expectations of VOE and the federal government related to artificial intelligence and the deliberate approach we are taking to ensure the well-being of our students remains at the forefront of all decisionmaking. As Dr. Banicki reviewed with you, goal one of Compass to 2030 emphasizes educational excellence in preparing future ready students. Strategy 1.4 under that goal supports this by promoting curriculum and instruction that develops students digital literacy. Our division defines digital literacy as the ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate using digital tools responsibly using emerging technologies like AI to support critical thinking. At the July 2023 schoolboard retreat, the administration introduced AI related information, including definitions, guiding principles, and staff exploration plans. At the 2024 retreat, they presented updated guiding principles and revisions to regulation 5-34.2.
125They also shared AI training resources developed by the instructional technology team. I'll review a couple of the items Mr. Den briefly touched on. He provided you with information related to Governor Ynan's executive order 30. This order directed the VDOE to provide tools and guidance for AI in education across the Commonwealth. Virginia Beach has worked to align to these expectations, including putting guard rails in place, which is mentioned in the order. Our strategic approach has allowed time for staff to build knowledge and capacity before introducing generative AI access to students. In Virginia Beach City Public Schools, we recognize a vast amount of industries are increasingly valuing digital skills such as literate data literacy, content creation, and cyber security. These are becoming essential for our graduates. Aligned with the Virginia artificial intelligence guidelines, we recognize the need
126to prepare students for an AI powered future while managing its risks and providing professional learning and guidance to discourage tech use if it is not meaningful and if it does not evoke critical thinking as called for in the state's guidelines for AI integration throughout education in the Commonwealth. We have planned professional learning and instructional coaching aligned to these guiding questions. How does Gen AI work? How do we navigate the ethical issues? How do we use AI generated language to achieve our goals? And how do we use AI to enhance teaching and learning? As educators, we do have a professional responsibility to understand I AI's capabilities and complexities to support our learners and their future. As new research emerges, we have and will we we will continue to work to learn and train staff to stay
127informed and adapt as the state expects us to do. We are now better prepared to provide informed expectations for high school staff and high school students. To accomplish this, we will um provide all high school administrators training this summer as well as teachers. They will take a required AI essential. As part of high school uh staff training during inservice week, teachers will be required to set clear expectations for ethical AI use within their classrooms. At the start of the school year, high school students will also complete required digital literacy modules focused on responsible and ethical AI use. Within these lessons and modules, students will learn that they must disclose how and when AI is used in their assignments to ensure it aligns with the classroom and teachers expectations. Our teachers are trained professionals. As part
128of earning their degree, they had to learn how to develop data-driven instruction based on students needs, their data, their readiness, and relevance to the world. They are accustomed to using data to inform instructional decisionmaking. And as part of professional learning related to AI, high school teachers will be provided best practices and considerations when deciding if they will allow AI or if they will not allow it. They will learn how to even build AI resistant lessons and experiences for their students. and they'll learn how to set clear expectations and model appropriate use if they feel AI would enhance the learning experience for their students. The instructional technology team has worked hard to also develop resources to help provide such clarity to staff and students. Teachers will receive training and helpful resources. ITS's and LMS's will support
129them with AI related professional learning and coaching. They can also help determine whether AI is appropriate for a given assignment, emphasizing that it should be intentional, learning enhancing, or they should not be using it. Examples include modeling AI for brainstorming, planning, summarizing content followed by critical thinking activities to analyze the value of the output, the sources, and the credibility. This resource outlines AI usage levels for high school students as an example. It would help to clarify expectations for students. It also includes guidance on how to disclose, site, and attribute uh the sources that are coming out of it. This reinforces academic integrity and prepares students for college level standards. Recall I mentioned safety is a priority in Virginia Beach. And I also mentioned Governor Yncan mentioned guard rails. This is an absolute priority for us
130along with ethical usage. The department of technology and instructional technology teams constantly evaluate the tools that we approve for usage. They attend statewide training to ensure the safety of our students and staff are a priority. After careful review, Virginia Beach selected Google Gemini as the most effective small start for high school students. Gemini offers enterprise level security through Google Workspace and Education. Gemini complies with COPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and SIPA, the Children's Internet Protection Act, protecting student data, blocking harmful content, and promoting responsible online behavior. A teen friendly version ages 13 and up includes age appropriate safeguards and features factchecking. We remain committed to slow thoughtful implementation supporting schools and adjusting based on feedback and evolving needs. And I will always emphasize the importance of our professional learning guidance from teaching and
131learning will always be to limit screen time activities that are designed that are not designed to enhance learning because they should not be occurring. Allow me to transition to overall online safety now as internet safety and student well-being is not just a concern related to AI. Children can Google answers as well. In February, the VDOE released its model policy on internet safety, highlighting digital citizenship, AI, media literacy, screen time balance, and computer science as key components that we must teach in our schools as part of digital literacy. They provided another update recently to include more information related to AI AI usage. In response, BBCPS developed a draft policy and regulation. It is entitled digital literacy and internet safety policy. This was in collaboration with multiple departments including school leadership and the department of technology. The
132dep the policy ensures compliance with furpa, copa and sipa and it promotes staff, student and parent education on online safety, privacy, screen time and responsible digital behavior. The VBCPS digital and software application approval process checks for alignment with curriculum needs, instructional practices, and data security standards. We use tools like one tech for software evaluation and involve both the IT and do department of technology teams to ensure student and teacher data is protected. If not, they are not approved. All curriculum approved resources must be COPA compliant and meet at least one of the following standards. they have signed the student data privacy pledge are part of the student data privacy consortium or they hold a onetech data privacy certification. So, as you can see, it's a pretty indepth partnership that we hold with Department of Technology.
133And to support our focus on digital citizenship and safety, instructional staff will continue to receive training from their IT's on current best practices for safe, responsible, and effective media and tech use. At the start of the year, all levels will deliver a mini lesson on the acceptable usage policy emphasizing key rules and expectations. Throughout the year, instructional staff and IT's will continue digital citizenship lessons to help students use online tools responsibly, understand online safety, recognize consequences of digital actions, and develop healthy habits like managing screen time. Additionally, the Internet Safety Advisory Group will be a subgroup of the Virginia Beach Student Safety Task Force, a partnership with the city and VBPD. This aligns to the state's model policy and our draft regulation. We will continue to work to ensure clear, consistent guidance on responsible digital
134use, media literacy, AI, and internet safety across our division. One of the factors we believe is associated with online safety and digital citizenship relates to screen time. As noted in February at the schoolboard meeting, not all screen time is created equally. Many concerns that we hear about in the media focus on social and passive screen time, listed here on the left. know that we do not allow social and passive screen time in our schools. It's not an acceptable use. Our school board shares our concern about excessive online time. Cell phones and non-educational technology use are prohibited per the policy. Acceptable screen time includes activities like research, spreadsheet building, assessments, reading their textbook, educational videos, SAT preparation, and personalized learning tasks. The Virginia Beach City Public Schools instructional technology team urges staff and students to limit
135educational screen time, too, and only to use it when it truly benefits learning. Virginia Beach City Public Schools aligns to the Virginia Digital Learning Integration Standards of Learning and aligns to their recommendations. As you can see here, they provide helpful resources related to educational screen time as well and uses of digital integration. They also work to support parents with helpful resources. We have outreached this year by providing helpful resources and we provide teachers with parent and at-ome connections to share with families. Dr. Robertson and I even appeared together on two podcasts this year to communicate the importance of online safety to parents. We shared limiting screen time, how to engage offline, and staying safe online to inform our families. As requested by the school board, the IT team pulled data from light speeded to compare
136the minutes a Chromebook was utilized between the first half of the year, as you see in blue bars, and the second half of the year, as you see in red bars, for grades kindergarten through 2. know that this is an average across all schools and our primary age learners have very limited time or access to a Chromebook. If used at all during the school day, which you can see is very short, it may be for an assessment, to record themselves reading for fluency practice, or to complete a differentiated task using a digital resource such as Lexia or Imagine Math, both state approved resources for differentiation for advanced learners and those in need of remediation. They can be used as a very brief independent math research or reading learning experience practice station usually no more than
13715 minutes. They are offering um train we are offering training the IT team as well on light a light speeded during the leadership conference so that administrators become more comfortable in monitoring their school's screen time usage as well. Finally, allow me to share a brief update on the newly released VDOE computer science integration standards for grades K through 8. To engage with these new standards effectively, we applied for and happily were happily awarded two grants for advancing computer science education. These funds provided our division with resources to support professional learning, curriculum development, and resource provision. In the fall, K12 math teachers and instructional technology specialists engaged in a cohort and wrote lessons that are ready to be implemented in math classrooms around the computer science standard of data and analysis. Wow. In the spring, a
138separate cohort of K8 teachers and IT's wrote curriculum to integrate the algorithm standard in social studies and science courses. These lessons are ready for implementation in 2526 and will be located in and utilized through the core subject curricula. Know that even though they are computer science standard related instruction, they often don't involve a Chromebook. They focus on developing students computational thinking and data literacy. They use hands-on materials, classroom discussions, and real world scenarios aligned with core content. For example, in a grade 1 math and computer science integrated lesson, students will sort and classify attribute blocks and learn to describe them, their shape, their color, their thickness. They will then collect and record data of their findings and turn that data into a visual representation. And that concludes my rather lengthy update on all things computer.
139And um I am available for any questions as well as um my wonderful teammates from the instructional technology team. Miss Melnik. So, as an old school cartoon super fan, um, the Jetson's prepared us for this, right? Right. So, um, and clearly we have to keep up with existing emerging technologies. So, I'm glad to see, um, that we're answering that call as we're seeing what what businesses are looking for now. We have to answer that call. We have we have to keep up. We don't have a choice. We really don't. whether you like it or you don't like it, it's just navigating the waters um and keeping our kids safe. Clearly, the president and the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia recognizes that and um and so I'm I'm pleased with that piece. Um Mr. Den
140is correct. I have a 23-year-old. I would say that everything he gets um newswise comes from Tik Tok. They don't I'm I'm going to um looking for Nicole. I'm going to apologize in advance, but you know, students aren't going to sit through a 23 a 30 minute news break, a news newscast where a lot of a lot of that newscast is commercials or teasers for what's coming up that doesn't come up until the very end of the segment. So, they just they don't they don't operate that way. Um, so, um, here's my question for you. You said you wanted that the division is going to make a small start with Gemini. How did you look into Kigo? Is it cost prohibitive? There is a cost. Okay. So, how quickly do you think we will outgrow
141Gemini? Well, and I'll in invite my team if they think that I um don't answer efficiently enough, but I think that Gemini being generative AI and having all of the protections around blocking inappropriate content, um there's a way that teachers are able to monitor. Um it's a great start to let them know how it works. Um, I think that when I talk to people in the community, for example, a concern is like they'll read something online, like a recent article I read about kindergarteners using generative AI and how it makes you less intelligent. That would not be our approach ever. Good. So, I think that it's a good start right now. Um, Google is obviously going to stay ahead and vet their programs. Um, and so they have this teen friendly version. Um, we checked
142it out through DOT and the IT team. Uh, it has guard rails. It has a walled garden to keep our students data safe. It doesn't use their answers to create something um or what they're searching. And so we would only use it to elevate critical thinking. We would never put kids on it to find an answer or just write a paper unless they were going to have to evaluate it or go check the credibility of a source. Um, and so I think those are some of the things that would comfort the community. We'll always be looking for something that would be better um for our students, but for right now we feel most comfortable by taking this step um and providing training. teachers have choice and we're even going to train them on how to
143build AI resistant tasks because the kids are using it at home and on their phones. We have to educate kids about the problems that can exist and the misinformation they could be getting and so if that can be done in a protected environment in a classroom we are preparing them for their future. So with that um a lot of things that popped up were about parental oversight and so did teaching children digital citizenship but that parental piece is heavy in that and as you just stated kids are already using it. So one of the things that was up there was um you know children are checking in with an adult to let them know. So, I guess we could say they're using it and yeah, they're probably not always going to check with an adult,
144but I I I'm assuming then there could be a punitive piece to this, which is, hey, this is um I put I changed the uh it's not the acceptable use of technology, which is punishable in Virginia Beach. And so, I'll be interested in um seeing if there's an uptick there. I actually worry more about this piece and there being being more referrals around this than I am about cell phone usage in schools. Um so yeah. All right. I'll I'll yield. There's a list. Okay. I have Vice Chair Williams and then next um Miss Felton. Yes. Thank you. Um so you said that teachers at the beginning of the year will need to set clear expectations and they'll also be required to take what exactly can you repeat that yes so they will have a required
145module that they will take um it will not only build their background knowledge and comfort level just with definitions and usages how to um create AI resistant versus AI acceptable um usages within a lesson. Um but it will also explain the importance of having those clear expectations to the students because it's not fair to the students if that's muddy. So they need to be very explicit. So um we don't want to micromanage every teacher's classroom. But one con consistency is also important. So we are providing um something that will go in their course expectations um with high school only. Remember only talking about high school. Um and so they will have um a statement that we provide that they must um adhere to their teachers expectations and disclose AI usage and um then the teachers
146can add on to that and some teachers may not want to allow AI in their classroom this year and you know we're allowing that flexibility because you should be comfortable um but we do need to encourage our kids to be future ready um and to use the tools ethically responsibly and know that you have to really evaluate the information that can be generated in them and you have to also be able to recognize when it's AI generated. Okay. And then um on one of your SL well you said that so you just said it's up to the teacher. Each teacher can decide his or his or her own classroom's usage of AI. So you could have some teachers on only with an approved only with our approved tool though. Right. Right. So you're going to
147have some at a zero. So you might have a student in 11th grade that has all teachers on the zero level, but then you might have a sibling of that student where all his or her teachers on a number two level. And the number the number two level is very I don't see the number two as being a slow start. I see because the number two is just full discretion of the student usage, right? But they have to disclose it has to be an assignment with directions from the teacher. They have to use the approved tool only. And the teachers are not just assigning an assignment and saying go find the answers. It should be used in as a evaluative tool. And so all of their trainings will emphasize that. So I think one of
148the worries when we hear AI is that we would assign an essay and then a child would just use AI to write their essay. So the training will address that. That shouldn't happen. It should be maybe to give a different um opinion or to find another source and lead them down a research path. So it must evoke the critical thinking and so that will all be addressed for best practices. Okay. Yeah. I I I guess yeah, my example of some students are going to be on the zero level all the time because his or her teacher prefers that and then some are going to be at a totally different level. Um and then I I do like this AI is a tool, not your brain. Don't just replace your own thinking. But we know some
149students love to learn and some students love to get good grades combining the two. And some students just want to get good grades. Is that a nice way to say it? And I had those students in my house. Some just love to learn and some didn't really like to learn, but they like making straight A's. Um so how how do you do that? Because I know I shared this last year. One of my neighbors had a son who graduated from one of our top programs, got accepted to a very um academicallyincclined university, and his dad told me he'd been using AI for three years long before we I mean a year or two before we started the conversation, and he told me that he didn't think his son could write a paragraph on his own.
150So, and he was very distraught about that. But, um, so how do we make sure that they don't use this as their brain? Are you saying all the training with the teachers and I do think that well first of all all very valid. I think that we have to also recognize they already have access to it on their phones and so if we're choosing not to educate them on the consequences of just generating something and turning it in and not providing our teachers professional learning to recognize that and to put clear expectations in place to communicate to students. this is how it can be used, this is the only tool and that I will be checking those things. Um, I think we would be doing them a disservice and I think that you could end
151up with kids just using it on their own without any expectations from our division or any education on it. Um, yeah, or the opposite. And so I feel like we have tried to really find a balance where we're going to educate staff and students with very clear guard rails and support with their IT and LMS coaching on those strategies. And that's why I think it's it's okay to have some flexibility on readiness this year and there will be some differences with teacher comfort level. I think students I was at a round table for example recently and they wanted to know why they didn't feel ready to go to college because they didn't know how to use it in an academic environment that was okay. Um and so we certainly also don't want our college kids
152getting in trouble because they were never educated on how to site it, how to give attribution, and how to use it ethically. Um and and we owe it to them to prepare them for that. Uh we owe it to the our community to prepare them to use these tools effectively, too. No matter what the industry they're going into, employers want them to know how to utilize these tools. Okay. Well, yeah, thank you for the clarification because you you're right. It's here and and I think the balance and the education is is key. Thank you. Yes. And I will say our English teachers definitely do written assignments only just for that purpose to evaluate their writing school skills without any technology because there's tools right now that could help them edit without generative AI. Thank you,
153Miss Felton. And then Miss Rogers. Thank you, Chair Brown. Uh Miss Kuchi, this is a very good stuff. Um, Kamingo, when I look back on when I was in college, you know, all I had was spell check, grammar check, and we had to manually do our sighting and know the techniques and the steps how to set it in order. Fantastic. And I like how they challenge the students, not giving them anything. They challenge the student with their questions that they're asking. As well, I'd like to say uh I appreciate yours and Mr. to then very carefully and very deliberate presentation with your facts, your fact checks, your background resources and how you use other regulations to support your presentation. Um and what in our changes that we're trying to do also I appreciate you at
154the top you said our teachers are professionals and I want to keep it there because they are professionals and they deserve to be called that because of all the training and school that they gone through with and all the other things that they have to do to keep their um uh certification up to par. They have to do that every two to three years. So, I want to put that out there first and I appreciate all the that they're doing. I had a couple of questions for you and um uh I was real um excited about or very curious and concerned about some of the things that you were talking about. Curious about why you changed and why did you change um the word uh digital literacy and internet safety policy to regulation? what is
155the uh resource behind the inspiration behind that change? Great question. So the state came out with a model policy um and then they just recently actually after we had worked a long time to draft a policy to take to PRC and then as well as our regulation which you have in your schoolboard materials. We they just updated right when we were ready to go to PRC the first time with AI and so then we had to go back to our big group that even included office of security and emergency management. We really tried to be strategic and think of anything that can go wrong with internet safety. And so the model policy really um prompted us to make sure that we were addressing this. Now, we needed it to be much more clear to the
156community and to our teachers and our students on our expectations and what we believe is um important in Virginia Beach. I can really appreciate this robust uh regulation that you put before us because I went into our policies to see what we had under uh all the policy in six that dealt with uh digital citizenship, digital um uh usage, computer services, uh instructional programs as well. when and when reading those they were to me good but didn't really robustly address where AI is going and like Mr. then said it is actually moving faster than I expected. When I look back over spell check and grammar check what we had in that no let that no longer exist plagiarism and how you did that and they're moving with it. I can say that we are moving
157fast with that as well. Um, you brought up the also the other piece of what uh the code of Virginia 22.1-24 and in that code of Virginia 22.1-24. It talks about the internet uh internet safety advisory council uh and it's particular individual that they want to be on this council. You mentioned it as well. Is it active? Have you met? and where are we with that group and do we have all of the individuals that should be part of this uh internet advisory council? So we just um we looked at that part of the model policy from the state and it talks about an advisory group to be formed and so we partnered with our office of security and emergency management and looked at that because it addresses internet safety isn't just the AI component
158that it is part of it but it also addresses things like online predators and safety and social media risks for students um and so or illegal activities online and so We actually joined um the safety task force as a small subgroup of that um task force that's in place and uh we have formed a partnership with VBPD. A member of the um PD is sitting on that group with us. So um we're excited about that. We've only met once and it was to introduce the internet um safety model policy from the state and to solicit um partnership there. Thank you. Miss Rogers and then Miss Dw. Thanks so much for the presentation. I am going to admit I have it's this is a mixed bag for me. I am very much supportive of um educators
159using AI specifically to enhance the ability to do their jobs especially in time management. Um, we heard the teacher talk about how um how much time it took her previously to go through papers and give personal feedback and that this actually um helps that time management piece which I think is critical for our educators to have that ability um and to get some of their personal time back. It really is an important piece when you are an educator. you just don't have enough time in the in the day even with planning to get all of the work done and it takes away your personal time your um on non-contract hours and I find that this is really important. However, um there was a piece that just came out two weeks ago. I don't know if
160anybody is aware um but a study came out from MIT and it talked about you you're aware that's the one I referenced in the presentation that we would never do that. Okay. And it did talk about how it changed the the the um it was the study though was done on 18 to 39 year olds and how um it decreased critical thinking skills. And so with that in mind, I do have questions. So you keep talking about guard rails. What are the guardrails? I don't understand like what specifically are these guard rails to ensure that students once we teach them these skills that they're not then going to go home and completely use them inappropriately or um unchecked or a ton of time so that it is changing their brains like I don't want to
161introduce something that then you know Pandora's box and you can't control it. So again I'll remind everybody we're talking about high school only at this point. Um, with the with Governor Yncans and President Trump's call to education um to make sure that we're providing these skills, we felt it was incumbent on us to to come up with um the educational experience that educates our students and prepares them for career, college and workforce, military. Um, but we are educating staff on how to develop the clear expectations. The regulation does um what we believe is a pretty good job of explaining those things um to our educators. The professional learning that we're un um unveiling addresses AI resistant versus AI acceptable. Um we're explaining the tools. We don't approve any tools that aren't safe for our kids
162and that we can't monitor right now. So, um that's the steps the guard rails we have taken that we will put in place. They will understand ethical usage. I have no guard rails for a child at home on their own device right now. So, um I think that's a concern um for us as educators that we're not building our students capacity or our if we don't build our staff's capacity to recognize an AI generated um piece of work. That's a problem too. And then kids would just pass through and not ever get feedback on how to site something or give attribution and they could wind up with a big consequence to that. Um and so the other guard rail is instructional training. So knowing how to use it so that it isn't um just generating
163answers for you. It has to be used to evoke critical thinking. So you can analyze the output. You can test it and prompt engineer um and see what this question might generate. um it it will even address them to re teach kids to recognize bias within um the algorithm that might come out. So um recognizing does this perspective is that the perspective of everyone? Is it neutral? Is it leaning a certain way? Um and so they have to understand that when we teach persuasive text um in marketing and all kinds of different courses um and AI is what marketing agents are using now and so we have to u adapt ourselves as well. Okay. follow-up question because you did talk about um making sure our educators understand how to use it, but also talked about
164how some teachers don't have to use it and that there's got to be a comfort level. So, when you have teachers, and there are definitely teachers that have different levels of comfort with computer technology and that they will have that with the AI. Do we have a plan for supports in place for teachers who maybe aren't as comfortable and want to be or even those who are more I hate to use resistant but you understand why I'm saying that they don't understand technology um as well as maybe they could how can we ensure because I'm correct me if I'm wrong we are leading to this being going to be offered as we go along so it is going to be critical that everyone understands that we employ how to do this. So then how do
165we support those educators that maybe struggle and don't understand or are having a problem grasping all of it that we are ensuring that we're supporting them, you know, in the buildings. So we're fortunate to have instructional technology coaches and and library media specialists who serve as coaches in every building. And so they're going to have someone that they can sit beside if they do want to explore um an appropriate tool and allow AI usage on an assignment. So they could even co-plan a very small um lesson or task within their classroom. So that support will be provided and then of course we have to provide a mandatory all high school teacher training so that that level of consistency and understanding and expectation will be in place as well. So they have clarity on the new
166policy once the PRC feels that it's in the shape um to go forward to the school board. Okay. And then my next question is you had said the video mentioned screen time balance. What did that look like? because I do want to say I appreciate the screen time for K to2, but I have a rising eighth grader and our last data sets showed our eighth graders are at the highest amount of screen time usage and that concerns me as the mom of a kid who's about to be in eighth grade. I don't want him on his Chromebook all day long and that is a concern. And one of the things that we talked about in February was that it's that sometimes their Chromebooks are open and yet we talked about not having passive usage. So
167that's where I'm trying to find the balance here. How do we guarantee that our eighth, seventh, and eighth graders are not having this high usage and then turning around going into high school and being introduced to AI? I don't want those kids um to then have this huge computer usage. So I'm going to um address a couple of things. Sorry about that. That's okay because I understand I have three children and um I have the same concerns. So, middle school does have their textbooks online and so they could have it open. That's not passive. So, I just I do want to clarify that. Passive is is when you're sitting there scrolling Facebook and and that's where a lot of what we hear in the media about um well-being of students, social media, that's not happening
168in our schools. Um, so, um, a lot of teachers to save paper might put a slide up with directions. Instead of spending time waiting for a copier and making 45 copies and handing out that, the directions might be here and they may be building a STEM project at their desk. So, I think that screen time can look different in the classroom. Nonetheless, um that is a concern that everyone shares, our teachers, our administrators, and I I'm really excited about um rolling out the light speeded training because now administrators will be trained and we heard from the school board in February that they would like to know how can we monitor that better and so this is a solution we're bringing forward so administrators will have a tool that they can utilize to to monitor that
169as well. Okay, I have one more question. Um, hang on, I got to find. So, you also talked about ethical usage. Who is the arbiter or what is the arbiter of what is ethical and what isn't? That's also a big concern of mine when we're talking about AI. I think in our world, we find that ethics can shift and change. And what one person at one time thought was this is what is ethical, then it shifts. And I just want to make sure that we have an understanding before we start what is our ethical line and who's created that and you know where is that correct? So there is the statement um that that teachers are going to put in their course expectations about making sure that they are complying with the teachers expectations and
170disclosing any AI usage. So, the teacher has to be that vetting partner and they can decide to use it or not use it. And I'll go back to a point I emphasized repeatedly probably um was a little bit too much, but I wanted to make sure everybody understood just because we're going to um allow a safe tool in Gemini doesn't mean that we aren't going to stop emphasizing screens down unless it really enhances a child's skill set and the learning experience. We're not going to be integrating AI with every assignment. that would dilute the standards and take away from direct instruction that needs to be focused on one skill like data analysis or finding the main idea where could it leverage every now and then what does AI think is the main idea after I
171hand wrote um my own main idea summary then they're evaluating and it raises the rigor so these are the types of professional learning that we are going to be tasked with providing Okay. And I guess my one last comment um would be that I also think that we have to think about what our students are hearing when we as a school board has told them you can't use your device from bell to bell because you can't handle it but yet we're going to be introducing to you to this big thing of AI. I just think that it's not always uh balanced of what our message is to our students and I want to make sure that they understand you know I think that AI is a much more uh I don't want to say it
172can easy easily slip students into places we don't want them to be with AI versus just you know social media. So I just I want to make sure that we are being extraordinarily careful when we do this. Yes. And we agree with that. And our computers, our Chromebooks block social media sites and they wouldn't um have their cell phones from bell to bell or during lunch. So I think that those are also guard rails that we've put in place. All right, Miss Dwire. So, um, Sharon, uh, Miss Felton and Miss Rogers and, um, you as well, um, addressed a lot of my concerns. I do think that, I mean, I get it. It is a concern, the screen time, but, um, in looking at page 13, slide 26, the educational benefits, I I guess I
173really didn't think about. And um I think it um it nurtures independence in our students. I do like uh the educational benefits. Um and I think that's a good thing. And I know we're trying to outweigh pros and cons of this and it's very new. Um I guess another question I have and this may be something um Dr. Robertson might be able to answer, but you mentioned we had gotten grants. Um, and were those grants adequate for what we're taking on now with AI or will will we need more funding at the moment? So, the grants that we received were for the computer science standards. So, it's it's different than AI. Um, of course there could be some, you know, mention of that and emerging technologies and different usages within those standards and and digital
174literacy certainly, but the computer science standards really um focus a lot on the math um and science of data analysis. And so there's a lot of bridging between those content areas and oftentimes they don't even need to use their Chromebook for a lot of those lessons at all. Um, and so, and again, we design lessons on purpose, so they don't need the Chromebook. Um, and so I think that's important to keep in mind. Now, we always would like money. Um, to answer your question, so we're going to keep applying for grants that we think um, have benefits for staff and students. Um, but th this one was not specifically for AI. It was for curriculum development. Miss Dwire, do you have any additional questions? Um, no, not at the moment. Thank you. Great presentation to
175both of you, by the way, Mr. Cummings. Yeah, I'll be prompt and then I mean, we don't have to dive deeper into some of these. I just have a series of questions. Um, and I do think like a deeper dive into the Gemini product might be good. I think that like at least speaking for myself, I mean, I know what it looks like for the adult version, but I didn't know there was a more kid-friendly version where it sounds like there's a dashboard for administrators and whatnot. So, when I see like the thing about Con Migo, you know, it's like, oh, I could sit there as a teacher and see who's being, you know, respectful with AI and who's not. So, maybe that's something that can give some maybe a deeper dive into the actual
176product would probably ease some of the the print. Well, at least what I would know would be parental concern, but also some of the things I heard from the board. But I do think the a d diving deeper into guard rails um is a good thing. And I'm curious from a from a technology perspective, you know, looking at canvas integrations like turn it in or whatever else is using like the AI detection. Um I do think that would I mean I don't know if we already use those or not, but I think that'd be beneficial to look at. I also don't know if with securely if we could maybe add in additional components around identifying you know people are trying to prompt hack or you know in inappropriately utilizing prompts we do that okay so
177that's I mean I think just us knowing some of those things I think you know because there is the fear of like generate an essay on the you know the philosophy of crime and punishment or something like that teachers are able to monitor anything that's going on on the um Chromebook with securely I think also just like more if there's alerts um that pop up. But I mean, I haven't seen a teacher review, but I think those are some of the general concerns that, you know, I I'd be thinking about, but I think just having a more of a product dive uh would I think from my perspective. Maybe it's a one-on-one thing, maybe it's at a board level, I think uh would be good just for us, but also for the public to see
178like, hey, this is where we're going. This is the product you're going to be using. Um so those are just some of my quick thoughts. I'd love to hear what our long-term vision is if we want things like Conigo. I know CHEG has a product. I'm sure Canvas will probably have a product at some point as well. Um, everyone their mom's going to have an AI study bot or something like that soon. So, I'd love to hear like what our not right now, but maybe what our big long-term vision is for what how we would love to see AI in a dream world. So, I appreciate the presentation and thank you so much for sharing. Yep. Okay. So, everyone's had the chance um that's put themselves in line so far to go once and um
179I have myself in line as well. So, I have um unfortunately I hate to say quite a few questions. Um and and I think that you spoke about um kind of how we're going to do a required module. And so I would anticipate that during that module, we're training teachers to identify student use of AI um just to make sure they're not circumventing critical thinking. Um is that is that an accurate assessment of that module? Yeah. So I think that to Mr. Cummings's point, this is a bit of a long game. So we're taking small steps. So starting by building capacity of understanding of how JA work, JAI works, what the state expectations are, how to use it, how to explain expectations for ethical use in the classroom. Those are our starting points. How to
180build an assignment that's AI resistance if they do not want AI used at all. So they can design assignments that would be AI resistant. The kids might be required to use pen and paper or build something right there in the classroom to demonstrate their learning. Um and so they will learn some of those tools um for monitoring too to make sure that um our kids aren't using it out of school or something like that that would not have been a part of the teacher's expectations. Okay. Um so my um how long is that required module take? Uh I think we had 90 minutes. Mhm. Okay. I took it myself. So it's relatively brief and is that one that we have created within our division. Okay. Um, so I appreciated and you know a lot of
181the AI direction and where we need to go with it. I I appreciate a lot of it and I recognize you know the needs to be prepared. Although I um I agree with my colleague Vice Chair Williams um that high school AI level two and it's not to say that I don't see some circumstances where that might be appropriate for example workforce marketing class where we're teaching them how to use AI to um to do that type of work. But um I I am I am going to have to push back and it's no offense to anybody's work. Um but that I I don't believe that high school level two for all classes and opening that up is representative of a small start uh at all actually. Um, and so I I just want to
182say that because I know a lot of times when we don't say things in these um, retreats, sometimes things continue and you say, "How do we get here?" Um, just like, you know, we're talking about computer use and we're talking now about how we've made it so there's now we're not having cell phone use during school. I imagine that as AI continues that there's going to be a time where they say, you know what, maybe we went a little bit too far like we did with these other types of technologies. And so, um, I I do have some concerns about that. Um, do you want me I would like to share just real quickly, we can look at that to make it a little bit maybe more um, we can look to see if we
183can revise that a bit. Um, and so we'll take your feedback and go back as a team and look at that to see if we can make that a little bit more descriptive. Uh, that is a live link too and unfortunately you can't click on it here, but it does go to a disclosure and it has to be an agreement and permission with the teacher. So even if they give something to go experiment and you have full discretion with this approved tool, um they have to outline and have an agreement with the teacher on how they'll complete that. Yeah. And you know, I I do hear um a lot from my colleagues, not that we have a problem with moving forward with AI, but I I think I hear a lot of questions about how
184we proceed and proceed with caution and um in conversations personally uh for that responsible and ethical use. Um, so my question is is how are as a division are we going to provide that oversight to ensure that that use that that 90minute training module is given teachers that we are in fact actually um providing it to students in that ethical way and um to make sure that we're allowing for critical thinking. How are we going to make sure that that's what's happening in the classrooms? Well, we are going to partner with our reading and math coaches as well, our library media specialists and its and the 90minute won't be the end. It will be ongoing. In fact, they'll have another couple of trainings that they'll um engage in through the year and the principal will
185be able to decide when and how those trainings are delivered. that they will have to be delivered during the school year to continue to build capacity because 90 minutes is not going to be enough to do this well. Um, and to give opportunity for teachers to come back together in a professional learning community setting and meeting with their IT and they could even ask for one-on-one to clarify questions. So, we'll make sure that it's not one and done for sure. Okay. Thank you. Mhm. Um, and then you mentioned the executive order signed by the president and I did a quick search um that that was put out and had a 90day deadline to um release something and it was a little bit ago when I looked at it. So, I apologize, but the task force
186was supposed to give us something in 90 days. Um, that executive order was written on April 23rd, 2025. So 90 days has not yet occurred. Has that task force released that guidance yet? Okay. All right. So there may be more information um related to that. Um what are other surrounding divisions uh in our state doing? Because uh when I looked I I did see the executive order. Um this is actually not a model policy. this is a uh it's a guideline and um I actually was a little bit confused while sitting here because I realized that those were different things. Yeah, that was the the first I had observed it. Um and so while it has a framework for implementing it, it doesn't appear that it's requiring it on our state level just giving us
187guidance as we are doing it on how to do it safely. Um, so talking about Governor Yncan's executive order. Um, so I guess I what I'm asking is what surrounding divisions are doing. We can get back to you on that. We've done some collaboration, but I would like it to be I don't want to misspeak about our neighbors. Okay. Right now. All right. Um, how are we going to manage potential overuse in classrooms by teachers? AI. Yes. Well, our um coaches um professional learning will hopefully prevent that. Our stance on technology use no matter the tool has remained the same. It shouldn't be happening unless it enhances learning and is very purposeful. So, um that goes for AI just like it would be any other technology tool that's available to our students and teachers. um
188principles will get training um and we can certainly and plan to address that um appropriate use and how to give feedback and make sure um that we're not going too far. Okay. Um and then in this guideline um it was referenced under strategies for success um about providing professional development to um ensure that we're really having experts in the field that can help teachers understand and experience the capabilities and limitations. Um when I think about teachers teaching students how to use it, I want to make sure that they're feeling comfortable to be able to do so. and are equipped with what they need to do so. Um, so what types of experts um, and I know that Mr. Den here has a lot uh, with AI, but I'm there's definitely some people that are really
189next level with AI. Um, what type of experts are we using to make sure that we're getting our our staff um, what they need? So, uh, again, we have the benefit of having the instructional technology specialists in every school. Um, and we have the library media specialists that get the same training. Um, they typically have a monthly training and they have several trainings in the summer every year. And they've been engaging in this professional learning over the last two years in depth to learn how it works, how it looks in education and different settings. and our instructional technology team in central office is in the schools too. So they're not um sitting at central office. They are partnering with admin, partnering with the coaches, building their capacity, sitting in PLC's um and so we are
190feeling pretty good about being able to provide expert support. Our division also participated in a state sponsored region two with um several of the region two superintendent um curriculum teams, DOT teams from across region two all participated with um us here uh and the state funded that and provided an expert trainer on generative AI and um so we all collaborated actually across divisions in that environment and received some really top level training from the state. Okay. Um I still have more questions, but I'm going to yield to my colleagues, especially since we're a little bit behind schedule. Um Mr. Kalen and then Miss Miller. Uh this question is for Mr. Den. Using myself as a very poor technological example, but using myself as an example nonetheless. when I have technological dish issues or difficulties, I
191go to my grandkids. So with that as a reference point in the challenge that exists in staying ahead of the thousands of students that make up our system who as young people are deeply immersed in all things technology these days. How daunting is your challenge to stay ahead of them? You can do it. uh it's it's a regular daily every everyday type of challenge. Uh so some of the platforms that Dr. Kawuchcci referenced securely some of those types of things that keep our kids within our walled garden to make sure that they stay on the straight and narrow. Our kids are testing those all the time. Yeah. Right. And it's a it's a regular everyday weekly challenge to uh address the new and innovative ways that they find to work around some of the guardrails
192that we put in place. And then we continue to uh you know that old uh old game of leaprog, right? So we continue to have to work uh around some of the things that they find and as technology does it grows it changes and always presents new options for them and how they might uh supersede or work around some of the uh roadblocks that we put in place and so it's it's a continuous everyday type of effort. I assumed as much. Thank you. Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Um, I appreciate that and I always enjoy when Mr. Den also gives a presentation, too. He makes a rare appearance. So, it's nice to have you guys doing it together with the presentation. That's great. Um, we are now on to building utiliz UT usage
193and redistricting. And we welcome Melissa Ingram, executive director of facility services. Can you hear me? Thank you. Okay. Well, thank you. And our buildings, we are um high-tech and low tech. So, but that was very great presentation um by Dr. Koch and Dr. Den. So, thank you very much. And I want to just say uh good afternoon to the chair Brown, vice chair Williams, um members of the board, and Dr. Robertson. And I'm looking forward to discussing with you today uh the retreat topic of building usage and redistricting. So the first slide many of you have may have seen before. Uh this graph begins with our peak enrollment in school year 9798. This peak was a result of major growth in the city of Virginia Beach that occurred in the 60s,7s, 80s, and 90s with
194the school system running in an over capacity mode which was managed with over 300 portables as growth as growth moved throughout the city. VBA CPS declined at steepest rate at about 9% over 12 years after this peak shown with the gray arrow at the bottom of the graph and to the first tick mark at the top of the graph. You can see that decline there. During this 12-year period, the school division made decisions such as not building another high school after Lancetown High School was built, uh, closing Plaza Elementary School in school year 0910, and beginning to eliminate the portables that helped us to navigate the growth that we had experienced in the previous years. During the next decade, um, ending at the second tick mark at the top of the graph, decline occurred at
195a much lower rate of three and a half% over 10 years. During this time, increases in school programs with space needs were absorbed in our schools such as early childhood education and full day kindergarten. with the exception of COVID impact. Um, as you can see in school year 2021, enrollment has been more steady at a rate of 1 and a.5% decline over the last 5 years and projections indicate these steadier enrollments to continue ahead. Taking a closer look at the last five years of enrollment and upcoming projections, you can see this rate of change of roughly half a percent or less a year. And this is roughly about 200 students a year on average. It was only five years ago again that uh full day kindergarten was fully implemented at all 53 elementary school zones,
196increasing the need for over 100 kindergarten classrooms throughout the division or the size of about 2 to three elementary schools. That same year, the school division also reached uh the point of eliminating over 300 portables or the size of about 7 to eight elementary schools. So many of the decisions that helped to manage this growth and decline we just spoke about over VBCPS's history were guided by the principles in schoolboard policy 5-14, the process of evaluating attendance zones, including building usage and redistricting. I'll give you a minute to take a look at the language. So, this policy puts importance on effective long range planning and annual reviews by a standing committee supported by staff. The policy also puts importance on community input for considerations on any redistricting process. The standing committee that works with staff
197for these long range planning efforts is uh the building utilization committee or BU. This committee is comprised of three school board members and two members of the community which include a representative of the council of civic organizations and a representative of the school division's PTA council. Staff support is also an integral part of the committee work with data gathered and presented by our demographics and planning team working with school leadership, teaching and learning and other key staff members. This data is analyzed in order to understand enrollment changes and school population programmatic needs which can fluctuate up and down annually at any given school. The annual assessment is discussed in the late November, early December time frame, allowing time for current school year data to understand and assess changes in attendance zones, building programmatic needs or
198utilization, membership and enrollment changes, citywide factors such as housing development, and other demographic trends including births, census data, and city of planning initiatives are all considered together. These factors inform student membership projections which are also reviewed during this annual assessment. The BUC may meet several times in the year, including earlier than the annual fall assessment, when initiatives are directed, such as the redistricting of Point of View Elementary School this last school year or larger initiatives such as the closure of Plaza Elementary School a few years ago with initiatives directed about 18 months before any schoolboard action would be taken. So staff support uh to the BUC also monitors schools for possible redistricting or attendance zone change needs. Factors such as K to3 ratio changes or other changes defined by the state had a big impact
199on schools with one example at Glenwood Elementary School needing to shift early childhood special education to other schools when their K to3 ratio changed currently being monitored by staff. Other changes such as new housing developments are also monitored and staff works to make recommendations related to any needed attendance zone changes before families move into new housing in order to impact the least amount of students as possible and to limit the need to move any programs within an attendance zone. Schoolboard policy 5-14 also outlines a variety of factors to be considered for the redistricting process, including optimal utilization of space or capacity, limiting the number of times an impacted area is redistricted at each school level to limit any effects to students throughout their academic career. Keeping neighborhoods together as much as possible when redistricting is
200determined to be needed. How new housing or other developments in the city may impact an attendance zone as we did with developments in the recent point of view elementary school redistricting. Also considered is school construction considerations and considering which buildings are in worst conditions of our assets. For example, in the evaluation of Plaza Elementary School closure, that building was an older asset and had neighboring schools that had just been replaced to help with the closure process. Redistricting considerations also seek to unify associated feeder patterns such as was done at Point of View Elementary School, where the Larks Middle School feeder zone pattern also needed to be adjusted. Transportation efficiencies and other long-term solutions are also considered. Working with staff on space and programmatic needs that would have a long-term effect in enhancing student educational experiences
201and academic achievement. These factors are all outlined as important factors to work through for a successful redistricting process. So this redistricting process also requires time for evaluation as many of you who've been through it might know um and community input often being a 12 to 18month uh long process. The process starts with evaluation meeting about six months after directives determine the need. Then an initial building utilization committee meeting where scenarios can be evaluated and discussed by the committee. From the possible scenarios, BUC's recommendation then needs to be presented to schoolboard at a workshop no later than the first schoolboard meeting in January by policy requirements when redistricting occurs. This is in order to have enough time for communications to the affected schools and identified affected areas and to conduct public community meetings which together allows
202the public to have time to digest information and provide input. The BUC reviews this community input at a subsequent BU meeting in order to evaluate input and assess if any modifications should be made to the BU recommendation prior to going to schoolboard information and conducting a public hearing at the schoolboard level. Other meetings and opportunities for information gather gathering may also be conducted as necessary with schoolboard action then following with action usually planned no later than the March time frame. This is in order to allow enough time to successfully implement the changes for the next school year, allowing time for staff and the community to be able to be ready for that school year with adjusted attendance zones. So on this slide, which many of you may also be familiar with, this is the last
203redistricting uh SL we conducted at Point of View Elementary School. Again, this was after staff monitored uh this attendance zone for several years. Direction was given by the BUC in school year 2324 for evaluation of redistricting scenarios with work concluded in school year 2425 for implementation in the beginning of school year 2526 which is this upcoming August. Direction was given to the BU after monitoring showed continued growth in student population, construction of new housing developments continuing, and programmatic needs such as early childhood education and special education resources being negatively impacted for that attendance zone. With these maps in front of you, you may be able to get an idea of the domino effect that most often occurs with redistric with redistricting one school. Multiple attendance zones being impacted. In this case, one elementary school point
204of view elementary needed to balance enrollment. Evaluation of scenarios affected a range of four to seven zones creating an impact to four school zones at the completion of the process. Also considering theater patterns at both the middle and high school levels, the middle school attendance zone at Larksburg Middle School was determined to require adjustments as well, shown with the map on the right, impacting a range of three to four middle school zones in scenario evaluations and creating impact to three middle schools by the end of that process. This resoning had relatively smaller areas within the attendance zones affected shown by the hatched lines on the maps. When school closure is considered, the entire attendance zone is impacted or would be hatched roughly three times the size of what was impacted with this example of the
205balancing enrollment redistricting. Therefore, the possibility of impacting more attendance zones and students also cre increases increasing that domino effect. The BU and staff of course work um very hard to minimize impacts as much as possible as outlined in the guiding policy 5-14. So, at this time, I'm happy to take any questions as I believe we might have some time for discussion. And I'd also like to thank our last building utilization committee members um which here with us is Mr. Kalen. Uh docu Mr. Co Pepper was our chair and Miss Anderson was also a member through the process we went through last year. Thank you Miss Melnik. So what does this mean? Are is there like a a next page? Are you telling us or is this just so that we know and the community knows
206or are we to be expecting something? So I was I was asked so we just had gone through a point of view elementary school resoning. So we were just asked to go over the building utilization committee process for that purpose. Okay. And I may be able to provide a little more insight. We had a board member that requested um to discuss redistricting and um a little bit about that process and so that was this was what came out of that. So that that process is more known. So does that make sense? Um I mean it was a board member request. I would if I were a community member listening to this I would think that this means that there's something in the pipeline. So that's all I just want to make sure that when we
207get the emails and the phone calls that it's not like what does this mean? What why did you why are you discussing that? What's next? Okay. And as I mentioned, you know, staff is always monitoring to see if attendance zone changes are needed. We just had some portables go to an elementary school at Woodstock. Monitoring Bayet Elementary School. Um so we're constantly, it's an annual process that we're constantly like going through. Okay. All right. That makes more sense to me. Thank you so much, Miss Rogers. Thank you. Thank you for this presentation. I appreciate it. Um I'm just curious though cuz I've noticed that some of our schools, the tended zone is wild. Like just nowhere near the school. And I feel like our transportation costs really could benefit from looking at how walkable some
208of our schools are for our students and that we have some schools that are really very unwalkable for their attendance zone. But if we had mod if we modify that or look at that, that's a way we can, you know, capture some of our cost by not having to have buses transport kids 10 minutes to a school when they have another elementary school up the road. You know what I'm saying? Like it seems a little counterintuitive. I understand not wanting to upset community. I understand um not wanting to, you know, upset the apple cart a lot. But I also think that in this time where we're seeing massive cuts to our budget, it's something we really need to start considering because it doesn't make sense to me to spend the money transporting a kid 10
209minutes by bus when there's some place they could walk to right there. Does that make sense? Absolutely. And we we work really hard with our transportation uh planning as well in demographics and planning. We share all our GS files. uh when I started in this role, mapping was just uh something coming into Google Earth and people were like what's this Google Maps thing? So it's I often caution you know when you look at it from an aerial view it does look very wonky. I completely agree with you but you know there's an attendance on Shelton Park for example and it looks like it's like a figure eight. However, when you drive in the car you're either going left or right onto the major arterial roadway. So where from the aerial view the tennis zone might
210look like what are they doing? It it really um ends up making sense from a transportation standpoint. The other part of Virginia Beach that we really can't get away from is all the water we have. Um in my former life and planning, you know, we uncover plans from the 60s of feries that we're going to go through Linhaven River and all those things. Uh we never got there as a city. So, um there are definitely some uh major uh waterways that we need to circumn and that's another big reason why you do see some of those awkwardlooking attendance zones. But sometimes from a transportation standpoint, it's often the quickest way to get Yeah. to a school. And I also think too that some of it I'm considering is I'm for in the southern part of
211Virginia Beach and there's a lot of new construction, a lot. and a lot of um you know whole neighborhoods popping up that you know we have to also consider. So absolutely Dr. Robertson. Yeah. So um Miss Melnik and Miss Rogers, good point. So Miss Melnik, you're right to the lay person watching this presentation. They're like, "Okay, so what's coming down the pike?" And but Miss Rogers, to your point, uh, from a budget standpoint, when you have even slightly declining enrollment and you still are operating 85 buildings, uh, and and Miss Ingram did a nice job of talking about how we've reduced portables over the year. We've closed some schools. I think the real purpose of this presentation to me is to let everybody know this is a 2-year process. So there is a process and
212there are things that we will do like Miss Ingram spelled out. We're going to monitor those new developments. We're going to monitor things going in the city that could potentially impact us and we we'll do that and bring it to you. But if the board wanted to explore whether or not redistricting would be possible to eventually become a budget savings, we'll need direction from the BU to say, "Hey, hypothetically, could you take a look at um our assets?" So, but to be clear, if anybody's what, we are not looking at any other adjustments. This is just a a a recognition that there is a process. It is very thorough and it takes time. And for my colleagues who may not know um my first year teaching 1990 Glenwood Elementary was a double school, had the
213population of a high school and we started the very first day of school with 25 portables in the back in the in the back. So um the growth was exponential then and um so this is the flip side for sure. I just want to make sure that you know that I'm able to you know field some of those questions properly. I appreciate you. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. It was very informative and and generally like Miss Ingram mentioned um the BU generally meets in January. Um and we've just done our committee assignments here. So um the members of that committee are set and Miss Melnik is on that committee. Um and I think Mr. Cummings and maybe Mr. Ken's still on that committee. Yes. Um so anyway, um closing thoughts, Dr. Robertson.
214Uh yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. So, a couple things. Um, Dr. Banicki put a sheet of paper on everybody's uh table related to student achievement results. And this is data that we just were able to to work through yesterday. And it's related to AP performance. So, if you can let me walk you through this this chart. Um, in 2023, 4,046 students took at least one AP exam. That number increased by 500. uh in 2024 and another 500 in 2025. So basically in the last three years our AP our number of students taking at least one AP exam has increased 25%. At the same time the number of AP exams taken has increased from 7500 in 2023 to 86501 in 2024 to over 10,000 in 2025. So, our enrollment's going up. We have more kids taking
215the test. But what I'm most proud about is the percent of AP exams with scores of three or higher, which went from 58% in 2023 to 74% in 2025. We continue to push our students into rigorous courses. And we've done that in a very purposeful manner. um really by identifying those students who normally would not have chosen to take an AP class but demonstrated AP potential through the PSAT10 as an example and this data supports that work. So this is an addendum to the first presentation. Uh next up I want to just talk about the uh AI just for a moment. One of the things that that I'm really proud about the team is we have taken to heart um your candid response not just this board but the previous board um with uh for
216us to go very strategically, slowly, methodically, whatever adjective you want to use and when looking at uh introduction of AI and u you guys asked some really good questions. So, I can assure you of this. We are going to continue to come in front of you, even if it's quarterly, with an update on what what's what's occurring with AI um with in our high school setting. Um there were a couple of questions that we're going to get answers to that you asked today. Um, unfortunately, I think it's just a need to say, uh, there were there are really no guarantees, right? So, we'll provide training to all of our schools. We'll provide training to all 5,000 of our teachers, but how a teacher might internalize that training is still subject to a lot of variability.
217And so what we want you to know is we are trying to lay out as many guidelines as possible to really leave the the professionalism in the hands of the teacher to determine what they want to do. Um, but I think that the horse has left the barn, so to speak, with student use of AI, and we're going to need to get into a position so we can um provide them the appropriate guidance on the appropriate use of AI. And I'm very confident in the work that's coming out of teaching and learning with Department of Technology and school leadership all locked in. So, uh, I my commitment to this board is you will get a regular update on where where where we are with with AI. We'll bring you some tangible examples of what it
218looks like. Um, and and if there are any concerns that we need to address, then we are we are open to that. Um, that's my closing thoughts for today. I know that tomorrow we have a full day starts at 8:30 with breakfast. Um, and then we'll start at 9:00 with a number of of more nuts and bolts types items I would talk I would call those except for the budget process. That's going to be a critically important discussion for all of us which is after lunch tomorrow. So, we'll have a light lunch so no one uh no one gets tired because that's going to be very important. So, thank you. Okay. Thank you. And I look forward to joining everyone tomorrow uh for the second day of the retreat. We are going to take a
219brief recess to uh prepare for the a bridge schoolboard meeting. We're still going to do it at 4:30. Um so the workshop is adjourned. Not the workshop, but the retreat sessions adjourned and we'll return at 4:30 for our bridge meeting. All right, guys. If you want to um take a seat, we're going to get started here in just a moment. Good afternoon. My name is Kathleen Brown, chair of the Virginia Beach School Board, and I call this a bridged meeting of the school board to order at 4:30 p.m. on July 8th, 2025. The purpose of the abridge meeting is for the school board to address limited matters that cannot be put off until the next regular schoolboard meeting. Schoolboard retreats and a bridge meetings are not regular meetings that follow the agenda set forth for
220the meeting or is otherwise adopted by the school board at the retreat or bridge meeting. Madame clerk, would you please announce the role? Thank you, Madam Chair. Present in the uh PDC room D, we have Chair Brown, Vice Chair Williams, Mr. Bowensteel, Mr. Callen, Mr. Cummings, Miss Dwire, Miss Felton, Dr. Green, Miss Melnik, and Miss Rogers. Thank you. Please join me in a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance as you're able. 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. All right. At this time, we are at the adoption of the abridged meeting agenda. Is there a motion to accept the meeting agenda as presented? Moved by Mr. Cummings, seconded
221by Mr. Ken. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the abridge meeting agenda as presented. All those in favor, please raise your hand. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes. The motion did pass for the adoption of the abridge meeting agenda. Thank you. We are now on to the approval of meeting minutes for June 24th, 2025 regular school board meeting. Are there any modifications to those meeting minutes as presented? Seeing none, I call for the motion to approve the June 24th, 2025 regular schoolboard meeting minutes as presented. Moved by Mr. Ken, seconded by Miss Rogers. Um, any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the June 24th regular schoolboard meeting minutes as presented. All those in favor, please raise your hand. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes.
222The motion to pass for the approval of the June 24th meeting minutes. Thank you. We are now on to action for the July 8th um personnel report and administrative appointments. I'll take a motion to approve those appointments as presented. Moved by Miss Rogers, seconded by Vice Chair Williams. Any discussion? Seeing none, I call for the vote to approve the personnel report and administrative appointments for July 8th uh 2025. All those in favor, please raise your hand. So, Madam Chair, we have 10 eyes. The motion did pass for the approval of the uh personnel report and administrative appointments. Thank you. Um we do not have a closed session today, but there is a document point of order. Madam Chair, we do have some administrative appointments. There we go. I always forget that part. It's my my
223biggest downfall. Dr. Robertson. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, we're pleased that tonight you've accepted our recommendation for Megan Davis, currently a teacher at Woodstock Elementary School, to be the next assistant principal at Betty F. Williams Elementary School. We're pleased that tonight you've accepted our recommendation for Aaron Lucas, currently an admin assistant at Woodstock Elementary School, to be the next assistant principal at Parkway Elementary School. We're pleased tonight you've accepted our recommendation for Melinda Pazella, currently a specialist in of a specialist professional learning in the office of professional growth and innovation to be the next assistant principal at Windsor Woods Elementary School. We're pleased that you've accepted our recommendation for Leticia Swift Nuome, currently an assistant principal at Parkway Elementary School, be the next principal at Centerville Elementary School. Moving to middle school, we're pleased
224that you accepted our recommendation for Brian Beavenon, currently an admin assistant at Cox High School, to be the next assistant principal at Lanstown Middle School. We're pleased you've accepted our recommendation for Jennifer Warren, currently an admin assistant at Bayside Middle School, to be the next dean of students at Bayside Middle School. We're pleased you've accepted at the high school level uh Sammy Betham, currently an admin assistant at First Colonial High School to be the next assistant principal at Lancetown High School. We're pleased you've accepted our recommendation for Ebony Cherry, formerly an assistant principal at Independence Middle School to be the next assistant principal at Bayside High School. And then two more uh recommendations in central office. Rebecca Carter, currently an instructional specialist in the department of teaching and learning to be the next coordinator of
225title one in the department of teaching and learning. And then finally, we're pleased you've accepted our recommendation for Tiffany Mack, currently an innovation and curriculum coordinator in the Carluchi American International School of Lisbon, Portugal to be the next coordinator of language arts in the department of teaching and learning. Thank you, Madam Chair. This concludes my recommendations. Okay, thank you. Um, we do not have a closed session, but there is a document here prepared by Miss Lenetti. You're also going to get a emailed copy of this as well. So, just make sure that you um take that with you and take a look at it. And with that, this special bridge meeting is adjourned at 4:37