001e for e okay I want to be sensitive to the road conditions and the weather so if I can get everyone to come up I'd like to get started with the meeting please we take them off all right good evening everyone it's Tuesday January 16th 2024 at about 5:40 p.m. uh we are watching the weather conditions and we want to get everyone home before things get too bad on the roads tonight um so we're going to go ahead and call this regular meeting of the Wake County Board of Education to order want to welcome all of you that have uh come from near and far today uh for today's meeting and thanks to everyone who might be watching at home our Board of Education meetings are conducted for the purpose of carrying on the official
002business of the Wake County school system and the Public's cordially invited to attend the board meetings to observe the board as it conducts this official business persons who will willfully interrupt disrupt or cause disturbances at an official meeting may be directed to leave by the presiding officer members of the audience should show respect for the speakers by refraining from loud comments or other disruptions disruptions by any person or persons of a public meeting will be subject to action in accordance of North Carolina General statute 143 31817 and now with that we'll ask all attendees take a seat um everyone okay we got a few remain seated I note that we do have a quorum today um Miss Coffield is unable to join us for health reasons will not be participating remotely but we all wish
003her a speedy recovery so then if everyone else is ready we will proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of alance to the flag of the United States America stand andice for okay thank you everyone at this point we will turn to our lead off hitter superintendent Taylor all right it it oh is that it okay thank you I had the green light What's Happening Here uh so good evening to you all thank you for being at the board meeting um um my comments beginning out will actually be recognizing a lot of our faculty and staffs so I think is always a wonderful opportunity to recognize those who do great work uh the 16th finalist for this year's Diane Kent Parker first year teacher award were announced recently every year our district honors outstanding teachers
004in four categories elementary school middle school high school and special education there are four finalists in each category these teachers are recognized for their skill and Effectiveness in the classroom and their passionate commitment to their students and families the winners are chosen by a committee who review portfolios and observe finalists in their classrooms winners will be surprised by a visit from the Wake County Public School prize uh Patrol next month and you will know I've been drafted as a part of the prize Patrol uh this year's Elementary School finalists are Erica Daniel of 's Elementary Amber height of Forestville Road Elementary pton Pew of Forestville Road Elementary and Emily Sheffield of olds Elementary this year's Middle School finalists are Anna Armstrong of Wendell Middle uh Isabelle kisar of Lian Middle Magnet Middle Emma Keel of
005Oberland Magnet middle and Shannon zoski of Dillard Drive Magnet Middle this year's High School finalists are Alysa coffin hour of Green Hope High Carolyn Jones of Wakefield High essence margan of night Dale High and Grace Snipes of Athens Drive Magnet High this year special education finalists are Kevin mlan of Cary High Taylor Simon of Apex HIgh Laura Thompson of ss Elementary and Peter Wester of night Dell High Awards like this remind us that it is critically important to cultivate the Next Generation uh of teachers they also remind us we are blessed with many young teachers who already demonstrate a high level of professionalism and commitment congratulations to all of this year's finalists and best of luck to each one of those one of last year's Diane Kent Parker Award winners is up for yet another
006prestigious award uh Karen [Music] the Empower NC beginning teacher of the year award the award is given by the North Carolina Center for the advancement of teaching uh it honors beginning teachers for their passion Innovation and ability to inspire students to achieve Miss dustur has been described as a mother hen to her students she engages them during instruction inspires them through Hands-On lessons Miss dustur also was named Teacher of the Year by triangle disability in Autism Services it is remarkable for a young teacher to make such an impact so early in her career uh we can't help but wonder what the future might hold for a teacher who already is gaining notice for the meaningful connection she makes with students congratulations on this latest honor and more importantly my thanks to miss dustur for her
007dedication to her students and to her profession I can tell you that it's always vitally important that we recognize teachers uh for this kind effort it lifts the teaching profession congratulations are also in order for one of our outstanding veteran teachers Mrs Shel Don at an English teacher at Middle Creek High School and a former Wake County Public School teacher of the year has been selected for the inaugural American 250 Freedom fellows the NC Department of Natural and cultural resources in Carolina K2 sponsors this program which will provide teachers with resources to help students understand our state's unique and diverse history and its important role in the American Revolution Mrs skon was one of 17 middle and high school Educators from North Carolina to be accepted into this Fellowship so congratulations on being a part
008of this exciting new program now last Thursday night hundreds of student athletes kicked off the inaugural season of the women's flag football with the high energy celebration at mbook Brook High School this event was organized by the Carolina Panthers which provided the $50,000 uh Grant to fund the sport as a pilot program in Wake County athletes debuted their new custom Nike uniforms provided by the Panthers and were cheered on by the Panthers mascot sir purr along with their families and fellow classmates flag football offers a fun and exciting way to increase athletic participation among our female students so my thanks to the the Panthers for making this opportunity possible the first competitions are set for Saturday January 27th so set your calendars with a championship tournament slated for February 10th best of luck to all
009our students athletes and their coaches finally this evening I'd like to encourage everyone to find ways to support this year's wake up and read children's book drive which kicks off tomorrow and runs through the 17th of February last year more than 990,000 books were shared with over 9,000 students at 15 partner um and 16 Child Care Centers and we're hoping for an even bigger time this year uh you can donate new or Gently Used Books contribute financially and our host your own book drive students who develop a love of reading early on are much more likely to be successful in the classroom so it is important to lend our full support to early literacy efforts like wake up and re read this year's book drive kicks off tomorrow tomorrow at Marble's IMX theater with a
010screening of the right to read so learn more about this by visiting the Wake countu schools.net wakeup Andre uh Mr chair that is the end of my comments thank you thank you Dr Taylor so I'd like to officially welcome our new Vice chair um which ironically is interesting because it's our longest serving member is getting a welcome but um Miss Mona Johnson Hustler was chosen at our special meeting that we held last week to replace Miss Tera Waters who left for the County Commission and so we're excited and honored to have you in this leadership position Miss Johnson Hustler um we will we talked about several other things during that special meeting I don't know if anyone has if anyone had an opportunity to attend or was interested and missed it but we will be
011uh phasing in a new committee structure and committee schedule starting next month and one of those new committees will be our new community engagement committee which we're all very excited about this will help support our strategic plan and our superintendents and the board goal board's goals of becoming more involved creating more opportunities for listening and feedback from the community and more opportunities for participation within the school district and our operations and so we're all very excited about that again I know we have a lot of folks here today and I I don't want to delay things I will say I'm excited this is National mentoring month and I'm not going to talk a lot about it because we're going to talk about that in just a minute it is also the month where we start
012having a lot of our early graduations around the district for our high school seniors who have will be graduating at the completion of this semester a little bit early and are their schools are hosting special graduation ceremonies just for them and their accomplishments so congratulation to all of our early graduates um finally I'm also exciting stuff typically we tell you about what's gone on since the last meeting I'm going to tell you about something coming up we will have a special special ceremony to commemorate our new Early Learning Center at memory road coming up later this week which we're very excited about um as so happens it's located in Mr Hershey's district and he may have some things to report on that coming up at our next meeting um not going to put you on
013the spot Sam um finally as we mentioned earlier Miss uh you know former Vice chair Waters left and has left us and has taken her seat on the Wake County Board of County Commissioners and so we do have a vacan uh we have posted the announcement for this vacancy and the process procedures for how we will fill it the deadline for applications is February the 5th and all of the information about how to apply qualifications Etc can be found on our website so please go to the wcpss.net website you should find easily find a link for the Wake County Board of Education District 4 vacancy if you or anyone you that you know who lives in District 4 and as qualified to serve would be interested in applying for that position and those are my
014comments so I will go to our new Vice chair Miss Johnson hosler thank you Mr chair and thank you to my colleagues for um the vote of confidence um it is um always my pleasure to serve in whatever ways are needed for my colleagues in our district and our students so thank you all very much um I will uh attempt to be brief but when people say that you're never brief so I'm going to so i' literally said I only get to talk about two things today um one I cannot believe I missed the kickoff for women's flag football I'm very very sad by that for those of you who know how I feel about our Athletics and arts programs um I I think it was Miss M happy and I felt very sad to
015miss it um but I literally did put it in my calendar while you were talking so I wouldn't forget um for their uh game on 27th um but again congratulation to all of our schools and especially the two in my district and my quasi school that miss my half and I chair Willow Spring South Garner and our shared School fqu Verena high school so I'm looking forward to all of those and I certainly appreciated um the comments having had a high schooler um our young women loved Powderpuff football and I had not thought about making that connection until I read several of the comments and interviews from our high school students so again um and congratulations uh to Darren Co and his team for securing the gr and the opportunity for Wake um to join
016into the pilot with meinberg and a few other districts that looking at so congratulations to all of them and we look forward to cheering on yet another athletic team and hopefully they will get sanctioned which is their hope um and the second item is um just an appreciation like many of you um there's so many prolific words that uh Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr spoken to and this year instead of which I there are lots of quotes but but instead I've actually a call to myself and to other people is to rather than quote his prolific words that we try to live out his words and finds ways that we practice them this year the triangle MLK Day committee chose Beloved Community which is something I talk about a lot in my day job
017where we create an environment where social determinance are not determined the outcome with County Public Schools we say we hope your ZIP code does not determine your outcomes and so that's for me what Beloved Community means and so hopefully we we will all practice how to operationalize that in ways that we give back and how we commit to our community but I'd also lastly like to thank all of our students who were engaged across the triangle in multiple ways specifically I got to see our students from Garner and South Garner at the Garner um MLK Day celebration um I got to hear my great colleague deliver a message on Sunday Mr Swanson which I will let him speak into that but um he talked about the importance of Leaning into your calling and following directions
018as Dr King did and did an excellent job um I got to hear the MLK Junior all children's choir sing twice and then um one of our students who um who I know who actually her mother is a employee of wcpss but um I know her from dance got to actually speak and it's always a coveted position for our students to speak at the triangle um prayer breakfast and so we had Blake Howard speak this year from the um why light or achievement achieve Achievers which is an important program for black and brown students that has been a long-term partnership between the Lightner family and the YMCA so again congrat congratulations to our students who got to both engage with their oratorical um skills but also those who participated in the March and those that
019we got to hear Sing so and again thanks for a community for investing and pouring into our students to ensure that they were participants in a wonderful weekend of service and recommitment to our belov it Community thank you Vice chair Johnson Hustler Mr Hershey thank you chair Hagerty um I will be brief um I want to start with I visited uh Martin Middle School this last week and I did so because over the break they lost a teacher who had been on leave uh Christy Dunston a sixth grade teacher who had just been in the process of talking about coming back to be an intervention specialist and um just my condolences to the staff the principal and it's it's always very sad whenever we lose anybody associated with the public um with our school system
020so let me get that out of the way and it by the way it it was wonderful to be in the school if you have not heard their their choir it is as good as any in our County I will put them up against anybody unbelievable um yesterday or today is Tuesday yeah yesterday uh for MLK Day of Service I was I want to thank Anderson High School where I was they were hosting um the north Rotary Club and that those volunteers along with students and families packed 30,000 meals it took us about two hours uh I want to special shout out to the people who were doing who were Runners with me we that meant we were keeping the food full in boxes and then collecting the boxes and um you know that when
021I I just want to say how impressed I am with our students the work they did uh with our staff that was there it's always wonderful to be at Sanderson high school and so I just uh it wasn't about talking it was about doing and and I appreciate your message uh Vice chair Johnson Hustler um it means quite a bit to me uh um and the way I like to do it when I show up to these things is some some of my friends were giving me a hard time they said did you speak and I said no I'm not there to speak it was just let me slide in and do the work and that's what all the volunteers there were about and so I thank them for the work that they they did
022and I look forward to doing it again next year thank you thank you Dr R hi good evening um I hope everybody had a good break um and had some quality time with their loved ones um last week like um we said we we said farewell to miss Waters who uh is beginning her service at w County Board of Commissioners uh I know that she will have a big impact there um and yesterday our nation celebrated uh MLK day as as other has said um and uh I was just doing a little research on things and you know turns out that yesterday was actually his birthday so it it just kind of happened to fall on the same day so so it was quite uh uh um uh notable um and I was looking through
023my library and and I sifted through this book of speeches um and I was drawn to this speech called the American dream that was uh given by him um in on June 6 1961 to Lincoln University uh it's a lesser known speech but it's still worth reading uh in that speech he talks about what the americ ameran dream means so in reference to the Declaration of Independence he says and I quote one of the first things we notice in this dream is an amazing universalism it does not mean does not say some men but it says all men it does not say all white men but it says all men which includes black men it does not say all Gentiles it but it says all men which include Jews it does not say all Protestants
024but it says all men which in includes Catholics and there is another thing we see in this dream that ultimately distinguishes democracy and our form of government from all of the totalitarian regimes that emerge in history it says that each individual has certain basic rights that are neither conferred by nor derived from the state to discover where they came from it is necessary to move back behind the dim mist of Eternity for they are god-given and later on in the speech uh King said God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men and brown men and yellow men God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race and in the creation of a society where all men can live together as brothers where every man will respect the dignity and the
025worth of human personality just some things to reflect on this new year um as we honor his Legacy um just on a different note I look forward to hearing Dr Taylor um uh report to the community uh coming up uh January 25th at Bren high school and uh I am also honored to be invited to attend the milbrook high school graduation on February 1st so I look forward to hearing all about the young people's accomplishments uh and I will continue to visit the schools in District 3 in the coming months thank you thank you thank you the night after our last regular meeting in December I attended the band concert at West Lake Middle several students performed Solo or Duo pieces and it was a great way to start the holidays last week I attended
026the talent show at Athens Drive magnet high school where one student Sayang AC capella a pop song in Arabic another student performed a parody about school suspensions a student and teacher Duo did a juggling act and as a special performance two of the assistant principal did a song together one on piano and one singing as I said during our meeting last month I continue to be lifted up by the talent across our school district band and other Arts can play a critical role in Student Success especially during middle and high school years when for some students these classes may be the one thing that the child looks forward to in their day so again thank you to all of our Arts teachers and to the larger community that support arts in our schools a little
027over over a week ago I went to the olds Elementary science fair lots of great projects on display and another example of talent among our students this event was supported in large part by NC State including a group of graduate students that volunteered with some of the old students who needed extra support in order to participate I was so impressed as I talked to these young people about their projects these kids not only knew their subject matter and could explain their experiments they also did a great job exhibiting confidence idence and good communication skills as they talked to me who they did not know um and other adults about their work the judges um and other adults last Wednesday I participated in our monthly sha meeting um the school health advisory committee I serve as
028the board liaison to this committee we heard a short presentation from two of our staff here at Wake County Public Schools that lead the employee assistance program and these women are providing referrals to staff for things such as elder care if they need that in their family child care referrals for food assistance and more they're available to staff who are in crisis and they were part of the team that was at Southeast Raleigh High School immediately following the crisis that occurred on that campus they also do restorative mediation between staff members I was very impressed with the their dedication to this work and made note that they are a mighty team of two um and could benefit from more resources including another team member one way we must support our schools is to ensure that
029our staff receive the support they need and that comes in many different forms um support through the employee assistance program keeps helps keep Wake County Schools a great place to work and I hope that we can strengthen this program in our next budget Dr Taylor thank you miss mavy all right um Cary gallery of artists on Academy Street in downtown Cary um is hosting student artists um from Green level high school Green Hope High School Panther Creek and Cary high school so if you are looking for some art for your home or for a loved one um go on and visit and check out our student work and I want to give a shout out to the cafeteria staff at Holly Grove Elementary School who received a 100 San ation rating which is incredible um
030so many many congratulations to um the staff over at Holly grve elementary school and I just want to say good luck to our high school students that are taking exams and congratulations to our midyear graduates okay thank you Miss mafy and to finish this off Mr Swanson thank you it's a little Lonesome over here so Raj you might have to slide down uh well good evening everyone and um I just wanted to say as we celebrate Dr King's holiday yesterday that also uh paying homage to ketta Scott King who was the woman that made this possible who continued uh Dr King's dream uh like so many unsung women of the movement uh in 68 after Dr King was assassinated she continued the Legacy in fact she went down uh to continue the the last March
031March that he had with the sanitation workers she and her children flew back to um Memphis Tennessee to continue that March and and so many other things but in 83 she petitioned and lobbied Congress to make MLK a Federal holiday and so she continued the legacy of Dr not just her husband's Legacy but building her own legacy as well as she uh picked up the Baton uh and carried it until she passed away and so um just wanted to give that and that exact same book and there's so many great unknowns in there um that we can all that I typically try to read as we go through this season um but earlier this month I had the privilege of attending score academy with principal Hines um and touring the new uh North Raleigh location
032um and was able to sit and participate in some of the circles with some of our students and I met a senior who was actually graduating uh this in two in a week or so um who wants to go out and be a fashion designer and um diblin dab in the entrepreneurial world and two other students who will be transitioning back to their based students and so I um just think that it's so great to see what our schools are doing especially our schore Academy um which is considered an alternative school but just because these schools are labeled as alternative school does not mean that our students just have to sit in those um in those boxes that they are placed in and so score has locations throughout and the staff does an outstanding job
033of making sure that their students have a coach and those coaches come in and work with them and check in with them and one thing I learned which I did not quite know until I met with principal Hines is that on Thursdays Wednesdays are Thursdays um in the Garner location they open up after uh at 4 4 P.M or so and stay open till 8 uh for students who have children they open up for after school care so students can come in and still get their academics and so those are just some of the UN little known things unknown things that make our district so unique and so great so I want to say congratulations to the uh to the students of score Apex Green Hope and carry high as they go into their midy
034year um I also look forward to the great things as we go into a new year um of the great things that our students are going to do across this district and um as I close and I'm sure I forgot something so please charge it to my head and not my heart um but I I want to just remind everyone that Dr King once said that everyone can be great because everyone can serve you don't have to have a college degree you don't have to make your subject and your verb agree uh subject or verb agree to serve you only need a Heart full of grace and a soul that is generated by love and so as we go through this season um understand that Dr King was not an old man uh when Dr
035King was um first called to serve as the um mountgomery bus boycott he was 26 years old and he was able to go through in that short amount of time to do some miraculous things and so to our young folks that are here and that are in the room lean into your power um and never ask for permission to do what is best and understand that in order to create this beloved Society it requires all of us to dig in and every now and then get into some good little trouble as Congressman Lewis said and so with that um I'll close by saying I enjoyed our service that uh uh Dr Taylor and vice chair Johnson Hustler and commissioner Waters and I attended um where we learned about some of the great things um that
036was happening and I want to just Echo the great things that we've heard from The Martin Luther King Jr All Children's Choir just the Fantastic things that they've done and um and so yeah so I I will not belabor the point so I thank you and Cher her I'll turn it back over to you all right thank you Mr Swanson so at this point on our agenda we would approve the meeting agenda officially I know that we have two proposed amendments um so I'll go around the table uh first Mr Swanson did you have an amendment to the agenda I do I wanted to I would like to make a amendment that we move the calendar um um I can't think of the appropriate language but moving the calendar action calendar adjustment um to to
037action yes not on the agenda add so the the motion is to add to the calendar as an action item the staff recommendation coming out of the work session regarding the upcoming um school day on primary election day that is correct yes thank you I heard a motion from Mr Swanson and a second from Mr Hershey any discussion all in favor of moving the item to our action agenda please say I I any opposed all right thank you Mr Swanson uh next Dr R I believe you had an amendment as well yes um I'd like to amend the meeting agenda to move from consent to action uh the naming of the gymnasium at left Ro middle school and is there a second can can you add am placing it after the recognition item yes okay
038second all right so um amended motion by Dr ining second by Mr Hershey all in favor of um moving up the uh the action on the recognition item as described please say so by saying I I any post all right so at this point do we have a motion to adopt the full agenda as amended so moved motion by Miss mfy Chair by Mr second by Mr Swanson all in favor please say I I any opposed all right the agenda has been approved as amended so then next on the agenda is the recognition item so give us just a second to transition here I apologize I've been having some computer problems that's why I had to step away yeah it keeps um I'm not pulling up all right so um we will we will call
039up uh Jonathan n Southwest area superintendent and Elizabeth Hannah principal at Lin Road Middle School good evening board chair hag board member superintendent Taylor uh it's a honor to be here tonight representing the southwestern arean specifically lkin Road Middle School as you may remember um Lin Road Middle School former principal Karen Cinders passed away suddenly while at work on November 2st 2022 tonight in accordance with policy 9300 we are bringing forward a consent item to help honor her memory and name uh personally I will always remember um the opportunity and the privilege it was to work with Karen and she will be remembered for her outstanding work ethic her passion her unwavering commitment to serve the students and staff and the learning community at Lin Road Middle School uh we've got members of Karen's family
040here with us this evening along with staff at Lin Road Middle School who are here with us as well and at this point it gives me great privilege to turn this over to Lin Road Middle School's current principal Miss Elizabeth Hannah who will walk us through the consent Elizabeth thank you Mr good evening superintendent Taylor board members and dignitaries um I want to First honor and just welcome also the family of Miss sinders who is here with us today as well as the Lufkin staff who are um here just representing our entire staff this evening I would like to read for you the letter that the staff has submitted to the board um seeking approval for renaming our gym it is with great support from current and past lkin Road Middle School staff and community
041members that we propose naming our gym in memory of our former principal Karen Cinders who passed away unexpectedly on November 21st 2022 Mrs Cinders had a long career in education she served as the principal of lkin Road Middle School for over 10 years from 2012 until her passing in 2022 during this time she always held her teachers and staff to high standards she kept students heart and interest Miss Cinders was a strong advocate for her staff and students and a passionate sports fan she also knew the value and importance of a middle school having a functional gym space for all children since Lin was converted into a school from an industrial facility many elements of the school are unique including the gym from the school's opening in 1999 due to the structure of the gym
042all home volleyball and basketball games were held at the community center and while they were practicing at the school no home games were ever held at lkin in 2017 Miss and the former athletic director coach Rob weiden burner made it their mission to make lufkin's home gym Equitable for all students athletes and community members after two years of their tireless efforts negotiating and fighting for the school in the spring of 2019 the renovation was finally complete as coach W said so perfectly the renovation created a new environment for school and Community because now all teams could feel that true home court advantage while providing an atmosphere for students to come and cheer them on Karen lived for lkin she wanted the best for all students there the gym was only the fraction of the things
043that she did around that building and in the community to promote how amazing the lightning field family was and still is Miss Cinders was fully invested in lkin Road Middle School and the Apex Community as a leader and a driving force for supporting staff and cheering on students whenever she could she loved Big Ideas and anything that would help Lufkin Apex mayor jacqu Gilbert put it best when he said that Miss Cinders was always that person who linked people together she loved our community and made sure that her staff and students were part of things it is with overwhelming support that we hope that you will consider and request our honor to remember our formal principle and Advocate thank you for your consideration and continuous support of our schools current and former lkin Road Middle
044School staff thank you thank you principal Hannah so are there any comments from the board at this time Miss mfy I just remember the Elation that Karen had when that Jim was finally um I did try to donate the poll to Mr Elie when he was at Apex Middle School um but he was happy with his with his gymnasium but the change that that had in the community I think you know I I can't speak for her but um she was so proud of that school and I'm just so glad to see her family here today and she's very missed well said any other comments from any board members I I didn't know Miss Cinders long but she was just such a joy and just her loss is really missed by a lot of us
045so I think this is a great honor and thank you for bringing this proposal to us thank you thank you thank you thank you um at this time um following Dr in's Amendment we would now move to an action item I would love to make a motion to name the gymnasium at lkin Road Middle School after Karen Cinders so we have the motion lovingly made by Miss mfi and appropriately seconded by Dr Ring again unless anyone has any other comments to add then I would entertain a vote on this motion all in favor of the N of the naming of the gymnasium at lkin Road Middle School after we'll just jump into it all in favor say I thought that was that was the dramatic pause for Miss Cinders but all right all in favor
046please say I I I and obviously there's no one opposed thank you very much thank you all for coming and thank you thank you thank you for your your mother's contribution your wife's contribution to our school [Applause] family we do have a second additional information item um on our agenda that comes up next this is the recognition of our nccat c teacher of the year ronner up uh barn and Cree from zebulun gifted and talented Magnet Middle School I Believe Miss uh Joan Honeycut will be presenting hey good evening chairman hay members of the board superintendent Taylor thank you guys for having us why are you laughing at me she's on a I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry I just get too excited and then it takes me
047a minute to change too so that's part of old age I think I apologize and I was looking right at the name too that makes it even worse we are excited tonight to be able to recognize an outstanding educator that has a lot of the attributes that you have mentioned and others that we are celebrating two years ago the North Carolina Center for the advancement of teaching incat in partnership with the North Carolina Association for Career and Technical education NCA partnered together to have a Statewide recognition for outstanding CTE teachers we're in the second year as I mentioned and we are thrilled to have the state runner up as one of our very own in the Wake County Public School System I have with me tonight as guest Dr Brock wble who serves as the
048executive director for incat and Dr Karen suar who serves as the deputy director of incat to present an award to our winner our runner up barnan Cree who teaches at zebulun middle school now I would be remissed to try to list all the things that Miss C Miss Cree teaches because if there is a course a subject or an area that she believes will benefit the students at her school her kids as she calls them she is the first to sign up and the first to carry the banner and with a passion that is um no other can muster she takes that charge um she does it with heart and passion and we are so excited and thrilled for her to be recognized in this way so if I may welcome Dr wble and Dr
049Sumer to the podium thank you hello and greetings from the North Carolina Center for the advancement of teaching our Statewide organization provides professional development for North Carolina Educators at our Ki and okra Co campuses in addition to online and school-based professional development we are here with you this evening evening to celebrate a very special individual barnan Cree is North Carolina's 2023 incat Career and Technical education teacher of the year runner up at incat we are proud to honor teachers and the teaching profession and the celebration of great CTE teachers is something Dr Brock wble our executive director is passionate about we are here tonight celebrating Miss Cree thanks to his vision and belief in the importance of this recog for Career and Technical education teachers I'd now like to share some highlights from Miss cree's
050impressive portfolio Miss Cree has taught Career Development courses and career modules Health Science courses and safety and tools and trades she ensures students have ample opportunity to problem solve collaborate and learn workplace etiquette in every course she teaches students are able to earn credentials such as American Red Cross babysitting CPR in first aid and North Carolina food handler as middle school students Miss Cree has led District professional Learning Community meetings to help other Middle School CTE teachers in her areas collaborate and share resources cree's instruction is engaging and Hands-On and focused on leadership development and Community engagement she reviews labor market data and Workforce needs to ensure her instruction is aligned and supportive of the career Pathways Continuum with feeder high schools Miss cre helped write the family and consumer science Middle School curriculum and
051piloted the arc babysitting course for middle schoolers which came in really handy for many families during the pandemic she started a hosta chapter at her school and want a grant to support student interest in carpentry Miss Cree has held many leadership roles from teacher mentor to department chair to school Improvement team chair she's also the school representative for the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce she serves on the East Carolina Board of visitors the Wake Electric Membership Corporation and has partnered with Eastern wake business Alliance Miss cre has been described as a highly engaging teacher with a deep passion for teaching and a dedication to her students she works with students to dream big and plan for success noted her CTE director a parent raved about Miss Creech noting she helped her son see his potential and
052supported him to explore many options her son has since gone to high school where he leads multiple clubs and organizations and credits Miss Cree a student shared that he loved having her as his teacher and he appreciates her hard work and dedication to making everyone better at zebulun middle we are pleased to honor barnan Cree this evening for her passion her dedication and her leadership thank you for all you [Applause] do thank you everyone thank you Miss Honeycut and a special congrat congratulations to miss creee we're all just so honored and excited and it's great to hear about all the great work you're doing at zebulun thank you everyone all right so at this point in the agenda we will move to the public comment portion J hag oh yes if I Maye could could
053we have a short break so we can meet the family and they can get out of here before public comment we did it last time I think just for five minutes or so sometimes between the recognition items we'll do that um can we just take a a quick like 5 minute that would be fantastic 5 minute recess and then we'll reconvene than you e well you've got staff that we're thinking about hanging around we don't need staff to hang around for whatever I don't think so no I don't think so it's not yeah we'll be fine okay we just have to get absolutely absolutely okay good you theair know all right then if we can come back to order all right all right thank you if everyone can take their seats we will now move
054into the public comment portion of the meeting speaker as some of you have heard this before some of you are new so please bear with with me speakers commenting on items on tonight's agenda will be heard before speakers commenting on other topics all other speakers will be heard in order of their sign up only the person speaking at the podium will be able to stand again all attendees that are not speaking are to remain seated if you have to leave please do not remain in the building as only this room is open to the public after hours okay if the public comment portion of the agenda exceeds 30 minutes board policy states that the board chair reserves the right to conduct The Other Board m business before inviting the remaining speakers to the podium members
055of the public are welcome to offer comments and criticism directed at substantive ideas actions or procedures of the board and of individual board members the laws and policy of North Carolina provide that issues or concerns involving individual personnel and individual student matters are confidential and therefore not appropriate for a confidential setting or sorry are confidential and not appropriate for a public setting those offering comments to the board including students may discuss issues and matters of General concern concerns related to the Personnel issues or student matters may be addressed through applicable wcpss Personnel the grievance policy and other applicable uh procedures in the interest of maintaining Civility and decorum speakers are encouraged to address their comments to the Board of Education those of us up here and must refrain from personal attacks or insults director at
056the board individual board members staff or members of the general public please remain at the podium during your speaking time any materials you wish to share should be handed to the board of attorney Mr Rod Malone here at the end of the table and he will have those distributed you can distribute those to him either before or after your comments and they will be made part of the public record during public comment you may speak for up to 3 minutes please note that the microphones at the podium up here are adjustable when you begin the green light at the podium will illuminate showing that your 3 minutes have begun a yellow light will light up with an a audible tone when there are 30 seconds remaining in your time and you will hear you will
057see the red light and hear another audible tone when your time has expired when your time is up the next speaker will be called to the podium please respect the time limit and speak no more than three minutes you may choose to speak for less time and again please respect the other speakers it takes a lot to get up here and speak before everyone please show the same the other speakers the same courtesy you would expect if you yourselves are speaking okay so with that we will go to um as our recent policy is we like to give our students the first opportunity uh on the agenda we have several students signed up to speak tonight so first I would like to call up uh Molly Edwards followed by Colleen Bailey all right good evening
058Miss Edwards good evening do I just go okay good evening my name is Molly Edwards and I am a senior on the ker High women's soccer team since my freshman year I have proudly proudly played on the varsity team at our beloved Cooper field to today I stand before you not just as a player but as a representative of a dedicated group of student athletes whose final High School season is in Jeopardy due to field Renovations we understand and support the need for improvements at cooperfield improvements that promise to benefit future generations of student athletes at car High however the timing of these Renovations set to begin on April 1st threatened to remove us from our home field without access to Cooper field we Face the challenge of finding and paying for off-campus locations for
059training and home games which includes the hurdle of arranging transportation for all players um this change affects not only our soccer team but also the lacrosse teams and track and field disrupting crucial moments of our student athlete careers including our senior night a milestone we have looked forward to since we first stepped onto the field we respectfully request a delay in the construction by just a few weeks this short extension would allow us to complete our home season on the field which has been a significant part of our high School Journey as student athletes we've learned to adapt and overcome challenges but we believe this challenge calls for reconsideration given its profound impact on our spring athletic season Wake County Prides itself on being a student center District today we ask you to uphold this
060principle by supporting a solution that acknowledges and um acknowledges our dedication and respects our final moments as high school athletes please consider a brief delay in the renovation schedule enabling us to finish our season where it started on our home field surrounded by our community that has supported us through our high school Journey thank you for your time and considering our requests we trust that you will handle this matter with the best interest of all students at heart thank [Applause] you our next speaker will be Colleen Bailey followed by Charles's call good evening Miss baile hello good evening my name is Colleen Bailey and I am captain of the kayy high basty women soccer team as Molly mentioned on April 1st the county has scheduled construction to begin on Cooper field our home stadium the
061project plans to update the stadium seating the field drainage system and the track these Renovations are much needed and we are grateful however the women's soccer team the women's and men's lacrosse team and the track and field team will not have a place to practice or compete starting very early in our season this is resulted in many challenges rescheduling matches and meets at such short notice which our athletic director Ryan Rogers has worked very hard to attempt to resolve on top of that most other high schools in W County have a practice field on campus but KY High School does not as a result we don't have a convenient or quality field to use while Cooper field is unavailable originally the women's soccer team was suggested to play East KY Middle School this field is
062unsuitable for a high school VY team to play at players could potentially be injured by playing on the substandard field furthermore the East carry field will be occupied by the Middle School boys soccer team and track and field team which would make scheduling practice difficult so we are requesting funding for a field to practice and play at while copu field is under construction an alternative can be found at wake Med Soccer Park which is a short DFT from KY high and would provide us a highquality field to practice at thank you for your time and consideration thank you next up is Charles Cole will'll be followed by Rowan Bido good evening hi can I start whenever start whenever you're whenever you're ready okay good evening my name is Charlie Cole and I'm a current Junior
063at Middle Creek High School and um I'm here to provide an idea that I believe can provide more mental health awareness to the Wake County Public School System in the form of placing the 988 number on the back of our student IDs that are currently blank uh as you probably know the 988 number is a federal resource providing a direct hotline to mental health support providing a Beacon of Hope and assistance for those who need it I received my student ID for the first time this year during a time where I had just recently been exposed to another student suffering from a mental health crisis and they were unaware of their resources such as the 988 number and were discussing this with their peers instead of mental health experts leading to more stress from both
064parties this inspired me to research better ways to deal with this issue and the underlying theme was the 988 number I wondered why i' had never heard of it before which could be in part to its recency of implementation or because there are only about three posters endorsing it at the hallways at Middle Creek obviously showing a lack of promotion of the resource which I believe could be resolved by placing it on the back of student ID cards that way the resources available to all students helping them to make better decisions in the face of Mental Health crisis thus making all schools a safer and better place I discussed this with school officials but they said due to red tape this is more of a decision for higher ups after that I discussed this with
065the state representative who informed me that there is a wide amount of room for policy to be made to accommodate this yet it is still a county decision this as well as recent highlights of mental health legislation within the state would make this a very worthy cause to implement thus helping the student body as well as our school mental health officials samsa provides this resource which I brought as a stimulus free of charge I ask for your support in bringing this resource to more light within our school system whether on the back of student ID cards or not thank you for your time thank you Mr [Applause] Co all right our final student speaker is Rowan Bido and then Ron will be followed by Margaret Belo good evening board members today I'd like to talk
066to you about affirming bathrooms and facilities in all weight County Public School System buildings but the Central Services building this one uh in particular uh I think gender neutral bathrooms are a must firstly I'd like to Define what a gender neutral bathroom is gender neutral just means that there is no specific gender label these bathrooms are just a single stall that is accessible by one person at a time it is not a multi-stall bathroom that anyone can go in these bathrooms exist so that gender variant people can use restrooms can use use the restroom in peace and in private as a gender non-conforming person using the restroom is stressful I personally don't care which bathroom I use because I just use it as a place to go pee um and when I leave however my
067presence in bathrooms tends to displease people men don't like it when I use the men's restroom and make it painfully obvious through their threats of violence so fearing for my safety I resort to using the women's restroom that makes women unhappy which I can see because they don't hide it with their dirty looks and snide comments so I have to choose between threats of violence or being called Slayers and horrible things all just because I uh need to empty my bladder um when I'm at school or at the grocery store or at a gas station using the bathroom causes me an insane amount of stress and panic which is really unfair because that's not something that everyone has to deal with I try to avoid using the restroom at all costs because I really only
068feel safe in the comfort of my own private bathroom because I don't have to fear for my life or my safety and I don't have to hear awful words directed at me I wish I could just use the men's room because I don't feel like I belong in the women's but my fear and anxiety gets in the way I'd rather just use a gender neutral single stall bathroom where it doesn't matter what I look like or how I dress and it doesn't matter if I need to use a tampon or anything like that a bathroom is something so basic and unthought of it's just a place you go when you have to go unless you're not a cisgender person because then a bathroom is a never-ending source of stress and fear and Trauma I just
069really hate how much I hurt how much hurt I feel on a daily basis because my mere existence is such an issue um I think all gender diverse people would really appreciate more neutral bathrooms in this County and you can start with this building thank you so our next speaker is Margaret Bilo who will be followed by Jim Walsh hello I'm Margaret Bido Rowan's mom mama for Wake County resident um two kids in Wake County Public Schools and uh thank you for letting me speak tonight I don't really have anything that special to talk about in particular tonight um I did want to uh talk about the action item that you guys added to the meeting tonight is really kind of what I wanted to uh talk about um of all of the places in
070the country that I've been to as an active duty military spouse and having kids in public schools throughout the country I can say that wck County Public School Systems by far has carpool down to a science and that includes DOA schools um nevertheless carpool is still challenging in fact at my son's Elementary School which is a polling place there quite literally is no place for additional entry or egress every entry point is already in use for optimal optimal car poool function I would be concerned about safety in carpool um with additional Vehicles not accustomed to the process additionally my son's school also has a good number of Walkers because it's a neighborhood school um I would be very concerned about the increased risk to their safety while crossing streets with the influx of traffic from
071uh polling on a day that they have school so I would just like to ask that we please vote to close schools on polling days and then in general I'm uh always here to advocate for lgbtqia kids and uh just inclusivity and equity in our school district so just keep that in mind thank you so much for your time thank you our next speaker is Mr Jim Walsh who will be followed by Mark Dixon good evening Jim good evening two w news articles caught my attention this week the first was about 19-year-old Holly Springs boy that was convicted or or was charged with Distributing child pornography he is now out on a $2 million Bond that's a serious bond for sure I wonder how that material was he was hustling compares to the books that
072are in our schools and contain non-age appropriate material if you would like I would be more than happy to provide you with a list of more than 100 books that are of concern to me the big question here is why is it inappropriate for a 19-year-old to distribute obscene material and not a school system and no one is held accountable or responsible for housing the material the other news item which caught my attention was a parent who reviewed the need to discuss sex trafficking with their child the article was actually written to ask the question why isn't sex trafficking discussed in our Public Schools when educating our children in subjects like and I'm quoting sex drugs social media and other sensitive topics I found it very interesting how the parent thought the topic should be
073discussed and I'm paraphrasing here choose the right Topic at the right time use appropriate language use Simple clear age appropriate terms that matches the child's age and level of understanding explicit details are not needed just to ensure a child learns the seriousness of the issue establish trust explain healthy relationships explain the importance of consent and teach your child to recognize when someone is trying to manipulate or coher them online safety emphasize the role of internet sex trafficking the parent covered the topics dealing with sex trafficking and its component components pornography and obscenity very well maybe even setting a guideline for the school board by the way you can point out to us how much of the new budget is curving internet usage in the schools I ran into a teacher at low Sunday he shared
074with me how he hates students that have run have run of the house and I quote at having their faces buried in phones tablets and Etc while in school he said other teachers feel the same way and want internet managed appropriately in many cases turned off in schools thank you Mr Walsh our next speaker is Mark Dixon who will be followed by Dave deten thanks for coming out this evening Mark hello Mark Dixon I'm very proud parent of two students at Panther Creek High School um good evening Dr Taylor um chair hty and the rest of the Board of Education um I along with a few other parents uh would like to share our experience with regard to advocating for boys volleyball at boys club volleyball at Wake County high schools my brief Story begins
075with my son asking if Panther Creek will have a boys volleyball team and as he wants to try out and play for his school my response to him was that there's there's not a team that competes but he should look into it and takes and and see look into see what it takes to have one Thomas and some other students gathered interest and submitted proper paperwork to to form a volleyball club as they explored further with the goal of eventually forming a team to compete with other local schools there was a noteworthy response from the athletic director to the idea of an inter Scholastic club team quote we do not add Sports until recognized or added by nchsaa or added by the Wake County Public School System from a state level the there may be
076some confusion as to what demand needs what demand needs to be demonstrated before they make the sport official but more importantly it's unclear as to what is needed from the county level this leaves the students without some answers or direction that they can take to realize their vision of course we we would like the high school club teams to demonstrate interest then the state can follow on to make the sport official it seems that what's missing is is the support or direction from the school district this is the area where I'd like your help um I fear that there may be some reasons among the athletic directors or the county athletic director for boys club volleyball that that it would not be included there may be some conflicting messages that do not lead to an
077understanding of the apprehension I would like these reasons shared so they can be addressed you will hear from some other parents uh that there is enthusiastic support for the sport and it seems that the obstacles to having students participate in inter Scholastic competition are very few we believe that the incremental time to support these student athletes is very small uh to be clear the outcome we are asking for is to have Boys Club volleyball to be supported at the county level so that the individual High School athletic directors can allow the boys to play I've been involved with Wake County Public School PTA since my kids were in karten my purpose has always been to support the teachers because they they give the Great gift uh and to enhance the school uh experience for the
078students so the Volleyball Club Vision is not any different and I'm ready to volunteer uh I just need you to tell me what you need for me and the other parents thank you thank you our next speaker is Mr Dave dley who will be followed by Sarah Conlin good evening Dr Taylor uh Board of Education members thank you for your time my name is Dave dley and I'm the proud father of two boys at who go to Panther Creek High School I'm here to advocate for adding Boys Club volleyball in your high schools I understand this is a process as laid out by the nchsaa but I also know firsthand that this sport is rising in popularity across the United States and has a ground swell of support locally let me give you some perspective
079in 2021 there were only about 50 men's Collegiate programs fast forward two years that number has risen to over 260 Collegiate programs for the 2022 to 23 school year just last year Wake County alone had um four club members locally who have gone on to play collegiately and currently has two young men who are in the national team development program pipeline at the local level I can point to the re to Triangle volleyball club which is one of the largest uh boys volleyball excuse me volleyball clubs in the state their recent boys program tryouts had over a 100 boys registered and has now thrown its influence towards growing the sport across Wake County last season they donated their facilities to host the first High School regional tournament and this year is sponsoring the triangle boys
080high school volleyball league in order to act as a and I quote Gap initiative to facilitate the full formation of nchsa a sanctioned boys high school volleyball by the schools directly it wasn't that long ago that less than 10 boys came to their tryouts and the club had to balance practice and match schedules with other primary Sports of their athletes now volleyball has become that primary sport I would also like to point out to a recent interest meeting held at Panther Creek High School where over 40 individuals signed up to attend and learned about uh a volleyball club program within the high school let me call out a recent article um about starting girls flag football by Mr Darren Co where he said I'm paraphrasing here we know that any student who participates in athletics
081has greater outcomes in their education and they're a more productive citizen all of which are fantastic points that also applied to boys across the county who are looking for athletic Outlets outside of the current High School sports offerings finally I want to mention funding opportunities similar to the recent donation by Carolina Panthers by the Carolina Panthers Carol the Carolina region of USA volleyball is offering a grant to Start programs in way County actually across the state I'm joined here by Sarah Conlin you'll hear from her shortly for more details but the bottom line is if funding is an issue there are organizations willing to help my ask is simple can you help facilitate a transparent discussion with your athletic directors to discuss the barriers that they have um in starting a program and how we
082can help them thank you thank you next speaker Sarah Conlan who will be followed by link walls good evening I will also attempt to be brief well I'm on a timer so good evening everyone thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight uh my name is Sarah Conlin and um today I'm here to increase awareness about the status of boys volleyball in North Carolina um how we help as an organization uh the funding available and college opportunities for these student athletes as a lover of the game um for a lot of decades I won't do that math uh but I'm very lucky to wear several hats in our volleyball Community not only on the state level but on the national level as well and but today I'm speaking for my roles directly as a director
083of North Carolina boys volleyball and as a boys representative for our Carolina region of USA volleyball our mission at the ncbv which is a volunteer-led organization is to Foster and expand High School boys volleyball in North Carolina after 7 years we understand that initiating a new program is super daunting so we facilitate everything from scheduling to planning playoffs to planning the season so they don't have to recreate the wheel we offer a game plan of how to start a team knowing that there's certain unique challenges at each school but 90% is already laid out for them so we try to make it very easy to buy um we also understand the challenges of theth directors and how stretched their times are so we do again all the scheduling for the season we help them find
084refs um and like Dave touched on we also offer um funding and I'm sorry I tell my guys when I coach them if we're in a big game say you're excited to play instead of nervous because it changes your Chemistry so if I get shaky I'm super excited to talk tonight so um so on the funding level the Carolina region is the second year of offering thousand scholar or grants for new programs $500 for seconde programs um they supported over 35 programs last year um we went from 13 high schools in 2022 to 47 last year we're going to have over 90 this year with going from a handful of guys being interested eight years ago when my son asked me to coach to over 2,000 student athletes playing across the state which is just
085mind-blowing because this all started because my little guy said hey Mom I want to play volleyball right and so here we are um on the sanctioning front there are challenges um for potential schools and they say they'll wait until it's sanctioning sanctioned to have a club or to have a team and the state is saying you have to meet this threshold to be sanctioned so it's a chicken and egg situation which is incredibly challenging um real quick on the first point um I think it's the timer it's making me nervous um again any questions I'm happy to expand it's I have a lot of information after eight years of doing this and building it um the first for organization was made by our Olympic head coach it helps facilitate the men's and high school level
086they created at the HBCU level six full scholarship teams creating amazing opportunities for these athletes there's colleges 40% growth they need athletes and you guys have them here thank [Applause] you our next speaker is link walls who'll be followed by John balock good evening good evening good evening everyone thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak here I appreciate the opportunity to come before you to talk about boys volleyball tonight um and and I can only imagine sympathize with some of the hard issues that this board faces between school security mental health issues loss of learning during covid I'm here to give you a really easy one which is boys volleyball you know like sometimes you just want to put something on your to-do list that's really easy because it feels real good to check
087it off so that's that's what I believe this is this topic is for you um I'm a parent of two boys um one of whom graduated in 2022 one who's currently a junior at enow high school um my oldest had the opportunity as a senior at Eno to play for the lacrosse team and now he had never played lacrosse before and so I was quite surprised when he came home and said he wanted to try out for lacrosse um but you know the process of joining a team bonding with others figuring out how to juggle academics with Athletics and practices and games and everything else um really was a great experience and and really in many ways was transformational for him and so what I really believe is that the more we can provide our
088young people opportunities like this in the form of Athletics and in other things of course as well the better off our schools will be the better off we'll be as a society overall um you know it's not uh it's pretty clear that when you look at a lot of studies our young people especially young men are struggling in a lot of ways and so I do feel like like volleyball and and look volleyball is not the answer to everything of course even though my son probably thinks it is um but opportunities like this can for young people to belong to something can just help out and and improve their lives um I was introduced to the sport uh just a couple years ago when my youngest son started playing and was quite frankly surprised it
089wasn't a full High School sport in North Carolina like it is in a lot of other states and so as a result pretty much the only place to play is through private clubs which are expensive and obviously that limits the opportunity to to those who can can afford that and it's not a realistic option for a lot of people um volleyball is a great sport to for our students with a lot of lessons that come in from playing on a team um you know I've seen firsthand that that kids in general boys pick up the game very quickly um and the nice thing about this is that most schools have the infrastructure in place right you need a net you need a ball and you need some willing participants and so we have all those
090things already so again from my my point about this being easy it certainly feels like it is um and you know my son is so hooked on volleyball that now he's got an old guy like me playing with him and so I play with him once a week at a local community center and pretty much every week there's another young person who says oh yeah I go to this school I go to that school I'm I'm interested in starting a team how do we do that and I think quite frankly they're struggling with trying to figure out how to make that happen um which is why we're here today and so I really do believe that demand is out there so my hope is that Wake County can Le here and we give more of
091these kids an opportunity in the future thank you all right our next speaker is John bog followed by Nathaniel dible is John here thought I saw him earlier okay we'll move on to Nathaniel Dibble and if John comes in we'll just put him back in the queue at the end Nathaniel Dibble all right uh same policy um we'll go to uh Miss Julie page I see Miss Paige here Miss Paige will unless uh Mr bog or Nathaniel Dibble comes in we'll be followed by Joseph Deon I wasn't prepared sorry I don't have I don't have my um thing pulled up take a minute if you need it we won't start time until we won't you know start the timer until you're ready my apologies all right um did you know that bullying and harassment are
092still prevalent in the Wake County Schools um even though it is not October um whatever happened to zero tolerance we've got some major problems at Willow Spring High School for instance students are stressed they don't feel safe they don't want to go to school they are looking at going to other schools parents bring attention to the issues they feel they're being swept under the rug they're not being informed as to what the resolutions are they don't need to know specifics but they do want to know that something has been done policy 1710 addresses this policies are really just a bunch of words until they are enforced and action is taken uh making a the victims move to a different classes is not acceptable the bully should be the one that has to be moving classes
093um I implore you Dr Taylor to please address this issue all year along in our school system and not just during the month of October as has traditionally been done um and then going on to school safety um I'm going to keep it up where are the body scanners have you ordered them yet what are you waiting for um and just to ask the question why is vaping getting more attention than school safety yes vaping is bad but it's bad on an individual level knives and guns are bad for everyone I think we can all agree on that um do you know what else is bad for everyone having students in classes with teachers that aren't teaching parents are looking to pull their kids out of wcpss because of this the kids are at the
094school they're in their class the teacher is in the class but they are doing virtual learning in class at school teacher is not teaching how can this be why do we pay teachers to teach but they aren't actually teaching this blows my mind um the kids are at school like they should be but they are miserable because they aren't actually being taught and therefore they aren't learning anything uh we hear all the time about mental health mental health mental health well here are three areas that we can definitely improve to positively affect the mental health of our students zero tolerance for bullying and harassment body scanners in every school teachers that actually teach keep our kids safe and and give them the sound basic education they deserve thank you thank you our next speaker is
095Joseph Deon who'll be followed by Becky lops good evening for Black History Month I I suggest Paul cornley who was born in 1903 he was an excellent student but no medical schools would accept an africanamerican except the University of Michigan after Medical School none of the hospitals would hire a black physician but someone in Michigan believed in him and supported him to come back to do a PhD in public health and he spent his career uh studying the disparities in segregated hospitals and became a highly respected civil rights leader so when John D Rockefeller III got to told the pr presidential commission on population he invited Dr cornley because he needed to have diversity in 1972 this commission published its Report with its majority recommendations including sex education in the schools to get people used
096to the idea of using contraceptives uh plus widespread distribution of contraceptives including to minors abortion on demand and the promotion of eugenics but Dr cornley wrote a scathing descent he said that giving instruction and contraceptives to miners would strike at the foundation of the family and hasn't Dr corly been proven right the commission promised that widespread distribution of contraceptives with abortion as the backup plan would lead to fewer out of wedlock births but the exact opposite has happened US Census Data shows that the percentage of children born out of wedlock was constant at 4% from 1790 to 1950 but thereafter began a a steady increase till now over 50% and you all are dealing with the consequences all the social science data shows that children from broken homes while they're not destined but they are
097more likely to do poorly in school be disruptive abuse drugs and alcohol get in trouble with the law chairman haery expressed alarm over a fight culture in schools teachers and bus drivers quit because they cannot take the bad behavior and you have to have trauma informed education it's time to totally revamp values neutral sex education but it's going to take generations to undo the damage thank you our next speaker uh Becky L Hobs and will be followed by Amy Williams hello here's to a new year I'm Becky L Hobs longtime Wake County resident mom to three amazing kids and chapter chair to moms for Liberty in Wake County so over the past few months there's been a lot of congratulating yourselves on how things are going the progress the students are making but ask you
098has there really been any progress as you know the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction um released the school report cards and the supporting data last month and when you compare the um last year's school year to five years prior there's really been little change and in fact many categories show a decline so five years ago the 201819 school year the overall Wake County school budget was 2.3 billion this year's school budget's about 3.4 billion there's now about 12 more schools than there were 5 years ago but there's 1,500 fewer students so for fewer students Wake County now spends almost a billion dollars more each year and this is just a change in 5 years I wonder where we'll be in another five and regarding student performance the graduation rate's about the same at 89.9%
099but when you look at proficiency rates English language arts has declined 4% so in other words now 39% of elementary and middle school students are not proficient in English language arts math has declined 2% so now 37% of elementary and middle school students are not proficient in math that's over a third students not proficient in their core comp competencies in um middle and elementary school so things really better than five years ago from these scores I would say no so I know you're going to be discussing um mentoring tonight and mentoring is a wonderful enhancement to a child's education but it does not does not replace the core academic needs of our children this Board needs to focus this board continues to focus on social programs and enhancement at the expense of our children's core
100academic needs the public school system is charged to provide a sound basic education but with one-third of students not proficient that's not proficient at grade level math and English language arts Wake County Schools is failing our children so today you discussed the budget and potential priorities for next year I just ask please turn the focus back to our kids core academic needs reduce the administrative bloat as Z does nothing to enhance the core academic needs of our children and I hope for 2024 you get back to the basics prioritize the core academics of Reading Writing Math Science and History and stop wasting our resources thank you thank you our next and unless anyone has returned last speaker will be Amy Williams speaking sure no worries we're just looking to see if Mr blog or Mr
101dble would come back um these are good books I promise these are good books I can't have anyone help me up here so I thought I'd do this okay good evening board good um I'm we're parents of three awesome Middle School age children who up until last year year attended Wake County Public Schools ending in sixth and seventh grades see I believe despite some of our differences that everyone here wants what's best for our children see I've been following the data on learning loss since 2020 the scores as you all well know have been declining in half for years everything that we've read out of the DPI and other education resources states that if a child is not proficient by e8th grade and the three you know Reading Writing math the chances of succeeding Decline
102and since our Twins were in third and our son and when school shut down we saw it firsthand we knew we needed to do everything in our power to change that and time was running out so we chose a home school Co-op that focuses on Reading Writing critical thinking and math and I wanted to share with you what we have found out reading my kids are required to read a book every two to three weeks and in the next two weeks present in class a paper an essay or a book report while starting to read the next required ass sign book I would be lying if I told you this wasn't in an uphill battle but now they really take readily take the next book and they proceed with the assignment and now this semester
103they've each all read six books writing the curriculum uses a textbook called The Lost tools of writing we were shocked to have our two seventh graders and our eighth grader this far along in grade level and struggle with writing not one of my kids could effectively write and I don't mean by like sentences I mean like taking what's in here and thoughts and putting it to paper but after a few months in that progressed and it became easier and we now look forward to reviewing their work especially we have a daughter who has become so creative in her writing math whoa math our daughter should have never passed sixth grade math she was one of your non-proficient and we already knew that based on the tears at the kitchen at the at the table helping
104her do her homework from attending Public School somewhere she got lost in the system we knew we had to go back and plug in the holes where the system lost her and I'm pleased to announce that not only um does she sit taller and more confident at the kitchen table she is caught up with her twin sister but our older son it was apparent within three weeks or four really that math that his level grade level he was not challenged in fact I would say he was quite bored so I immediately went and got a textbook one grade level higher and while challenging he is moving forward at a higher level and it's no secret since I'm his teacher now that the way it's taught today and the way that I T was learned is
105different however same answer different techniques but to my surprise he admits my way can sometimes be ear easier it is so important for parents to get involved with their children's education whether they hom School attend private Charter or public and there are resources out there we are super glad we made the decisions to set them up for Success we've been given them confidence and tools to read am I done yeah I'm sorry you can always submit additional comments To Us by email or written and we will take them but I really appreciate it thank you m thank you all right unless any of our last speakers have returned no then we will conclude the com public comment period thank you all for your public comments tonight braving the weather and again for all of you
106if you have additional comments you'd like to follow up please do reach out to board members by email and they'll get distributed okay thank you very much all right I'll give board members a minute and then we will proceed proceed with the agenda the next item that we have is um um the next item that we have is our consent agenda we have amended what's on the consent agenda so if board members have had an opportunity to review it we'll entertain a motion um at the appropriate time Mr Swanson so moved Mr Swanson has moved adoption of the consent agenda second and there is a second by Vice chair Johnson Hustler all in favor of adoption of the items on the consent agenda agenda please signify by saying I I any opposed all right the
107consent agenda passes so we'll move to our action items um we have two items on the action agenda one that was there and one that we moved there I wasn't sure with the one we moved if it was our first one or a second one um I will check if we're ready oh okay so it has come up as the second item now so the so the mentoring will be the first item item all right now that it is refreshed all right um National mentoring month Proclamation um we have a proclamation which we would like to read to you all earlier we mentioned um that this was National mentoring Proclamation National mentoring month and as you know this is an issue that a lot of us on the board have um been spending a lot
108of time on trying to you know Elevate it's importance talking to different Community Partners uh we heard mentoring come out as um an item that many of the members of the community in the Southeast Raleigh High School Community wanted to see us you know put more investment in and improve and there's a lot of things going on behind the scenes but I thought this proclamation in particular for this month is a good way to publicly bring a lot of these things to light and and share them with you so I'd like to read the proclamation whereas January 2024 marks the 22nd anniversary of national mentoring month an annual campaign that highlights the need for Quality mentoring youth mentoring programs and the positive impact those programs have on our communities State and nation and whereas the
109Wake County Public School System honors the mentors who support young people by showing up for them every day and demonstrating their commitment to helping them Thrive and whereas quality mentoring promotes healthy relationships it helps develop communication skills builds positive self-esteem and supports the emotional well-being of the mentees and whereas research demonstrates that Mentor Youth have higher academic aspirations than their similarly situated peers they are 20% more likely to volunteer in the community they are 30% more likely to engage in extracurricular activities and they are 30% more likely to hold leadership positions while in school and whereas mentoring plays a pivotal role in career exploration it supports Workforce Development by helping young people set career goals it equips mentors with the skills needed to support the professional growth of young people and it drives positive outcomes
110for communities across the state and whereas the Wake County Public School System Board of Education supports the district's Helping Hands mentoring program and its mission to engage Inspire and Empower Youth and where as the Wake County Public School Systems core beliefs underscore our belief that every student is uniquely capable and deserves to be challenged and engaged in relevant rigorous and meaningful learning every day whereas National mentoring month is the time of the year to celebrate Elevate and encourage mentoring and recruit caring mentors from within the Wake County Public School System as well as from the surrounding Community therefore be it resolved that I J Christopher Hagerty Wake County Public Schools system board chair and I will also add you in that Dr Taylor as well uh do hereby proclaim the month of January 2024 is
111National mentoring month and call upon public officials Educators businesses and community members to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies activities and programs in order to acknowledge and celebrate the individuals and organizations that play a pivotal role in positive Youth Development that build intergenerational relationships that support the enhancement of critical thinking skills and the capacity of deeper reflection and promote the deeper funding program expansion and accessibility of quality mentoring within the district and the wider community and support the Wake County Public School Systems core beliefs including but not limit to the commitment and core belief to every student is expected to learn grow and succeed while we eliminate the ability to predict achievement based on socio economic status race and ethnicity and so with that we present that Proclamation um to be signed uh by the
112superintendent and myself representing the board we'll open it up for any comment that or anything any of you would like to share about mentoring or the resolution any thoughts all right is there a motion from the board in support of the resolution second motion by Mr Hershey second by Vice chair Johnson Hustler all in favor please say I I any opposed all right the resolution passes thank you very much we'll now turn to our second action item the new action item it was added the update on the 2023 24 instructional calendars we have uh Mr car roza presenting uh for the staff Mr Cara whenever you're ready good evening chair hargy members of the board uh earlier this evening staff brought forth to you a conversation regarding March 5th 2024 being added as a non-school
113day for students in recognition of the primary election day that will be happening uh during this national election period uh based on that conversation and the information that was shared staff um heard your recommendation to bring this to an action item to move forward with making March 4th 2024 a March 5th thank you 2024 a non-school day which in essence for staff would be a teacher work day um for the 2023 2024 school calendar that would be this current school year year staff is here seeking your approval of that uh recommendation tonight all right thank you Mr crow that we appreciate it we know that normally we like to give everyone time to take these issues home out of work session reflect and review but we also know there's some urgency around this issue um
114some urgency around this issue and uh therefore we wanted to bring it to action tonight um is there any anyone who would like to speak on the recommendation or any questions about the recommendation first we can make a motion first yeah so there's a motion by Mr Swanson second by Mr Hershey to approve the staff recommendation for uh changing the school calendar to allow for um a day off on the primary election day of this year all right the motion is on the table it's been properly moved and seconded for discussion Miss mafy I just want to make a comment that um I'm grateful that we're able to do this and that we have the bank days that allow it um and also am grateful that we have a staff teleworking policy um for our
115folks so that that is a possibility um depending on where they work so that's all thank you miss mafy any other comments Vice chair Johnson Hustler thank you I certainly am glad we have the policies and practices in place to address it I also want to acknowledge that the shortcoming this is going the short notice is going to be a challenge for many families and Educators who put us right in the middle um of starting new semesters um but especially those of you who have child care again my role has always been to be clear that I'm married to an educator which I prioritize but also a parent and recognize that this is going to be quite a shift to give less than two months notice to this kind of transition and hopefully for those
116who do not listen to our Schoolboard meetings especially our work sessions will go back and listen to how we got to this conversation and truly do acknowledge that it is a hardship thank you V sh Johnson Hustler Mr Swanson thank you I just want to Echo Miss John Vice chair Johnson Hustler and just um you know this is this is a decision that I don't think any of us want to take lightly but we also understand the safety needs of this and also understand that um to the folks that are not necessarily new to our buildings do not may may not understand all the safety precautions that we uh have as a district and I I think it's just wise for us although nothing has happened but not to to uh not to gosh I
117can't get my words together not using this as an excuse not to be proactive which none of us are doing that but I I think this is just um one that we can move forward with and I hope as as we said in the work session um it's an opportunity for us to to look at the calendars and those major election years uh so we can already have those days set aside so I'll stop there thank you Mr Swanson any final com any other comments Dr ring and then Mr Hershey um yeah so I I I've been kind of going back and forth about it and and you know I do have concern about um you know having losing that cushion uh of days um in in in case that we have further inclement weathers
118and other emergencies or whatever that may come up that require us to use those um Bank days and and so you know I'm I'm especially the year round school that you had mentioned about earlier and I I I do I do know you know the the the difficulty of of parents having to pick up kids and all that on that on that particular day and um I so I'm I'm going to vote no thank you Dr in Mr Hershey uh yes I just hope when we communicate um that we if this is approved which I'm going to support um making this a uh a day off effectively for the during the primary um that we communicate the reasoning why and how many of our schools and we're very specific with the number of schools that
119are um polling locations so people are aware that um it's not just a handful of schools but it's um roughly 40 plus per of our schools which I think will help people understand and um I do acknowledge too that it it is shorter notice than we would like and I do hope we can just build this in uh I know in the past and I want to acknowledge that the primary was never this early also so certainly the primary days can be changed and we will do the best we can going forward um with this and also want to recognize take the moment that uh if we had calendar flexibility um if the general assembly would be responsive to the school systems who all want calendar flexibility uh this would not be a problem as
120far as having Bank days so um I encourage people to reach out to the general assembly and and really to the uh one or two people who are standing in the way of calendar flexibility thank you thank you Mr Hershey are there any final comments all right then we have a motion it's been properly moved and seconded all in favor of the staff recommendation please indicate so by saying I I I all oose nay nay sounds to me like the motion passes all right thank you very much Mr pres thank you all right so at this point we've uh reached I believe the end of our action items and I would entertain a motion to return to closed session for the um purposes of the statutory reasons stated earlier I hear a motion from Miss
121Edmonds a second from Mr Swanson all in favor of returning to Clos session please say I I any opposed all right thank you very much we will uh move now to closed session thank you all for coming have a good