001Good evening. I would like to call to order the regular meeting of the Newport News School Board for Tuesday, August 19th, 2025. On behalf of the members of the school board and Dr. Mitchell, I welcome each of you present this evening and those who are watching on TV and online. A quorum is present to transact the business of the school division. We we will begin tonight's meeting with the invocation and pledge to the flag. Here to do the honors is Michelle Nordine, president of Newport News Public Schools PTAs. [Music] Thank you, Dr. Best. Um I decided to do something a little different this year instead of doing a little inspirational poem. So what is PTA? PTA is the oldest and largest advocacy association in America, comprised of parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, and other adults who
002share a commitment to improve the education, health, and safety of all children. While the National PTA has been around since 1897, the Virginia PTA was chartered in 1921. Virginia's PTA Virginia PTA's primary goal is to strengthen our schools and communities through parent and family involvement and to advocate for and to advocate resources and funding to enable the academic success, health, and well-being of all children in Virginia. What is PTA's mission? PTA's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging, empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. What is National PTA successfully advocated for? Universal kindergarten, child labor laws, national school lunch program, and arts and education. What has Virginia PTA successfully advocated for? Lift the cap on essential support staff, Virginia Literacy Act, special education reform, early childhood education access and
003quality, English language learner funding, and mental health and specialized support staff. This is just a few of them. There's more on their web page. Why do you have to pay PTA memberships? A portion of your dues goes to national PTA which provides services and resources such as training, advocacy, reflection, awards, scholarships and more. Another portion of your dues goes to Virginia PTA which provides services and resources such as advocacy, training and more. The remaining portion which is very tiny uh of your dues stays with your local PTA which uses this money for its own purposes. What does PTA do? The PTA is sometimes perceived as a fundraising group but this is not its primary responsibility. The PTA is a powerful voice for children, advocating for their needs at the local, state, and national levels. PTA
004supports students through fundraising for enrichment programs, providing resources, and fostering a strong sense of community. Why join a PTA? When a school has a PTA, parents are better informed and more engaged, and the learning environment is more supportive for students. More than 85 research studies conducted over the last 30 years prove that kids do better when parents are involved. Grades are higher, test scores improve, self esteem grows, attendance increases, and schools improve. You do not have to have a child in a Newport News school to join a PTA. All PTAs have a community membership. If you believe in our mission, please join a PTA to show your support. Your membership dues will help us advocate for our students at the state national level. Joining PTA does not mean that you have to volunteer. If you
005have time, please consider volunteering to help my PTAs. If you don't have time, please don't let that deter you from joining a PTA. You can join a PTA and not volunteer. The majority of our PTA members are support members, meaning that they support our mission but are unable to volunteer. If you are interested in joining a PTA, please contact your school's PTA or look at one of our pinned posts on Facebook at Newport News Council PTA Facebook page. I hope this answers any questions the community may have about PTA. And I hope you will consider becoming a PTA member. Now that you know what PTA does, please don't think of us as parents to avoid, but people taking action. Thank you. Please stand. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
006and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you guys and I look forward to working with everyone. Thank you, Miss Nordine. Thank you for all that you do for Newport News Public Schools. The next item on tonight's agenda is school board recognitions. Dr. Mitchell, please join me at the podium. This evening, we have the honor of welcoming our new student representative to the school board, Kyla Leggette. Miss Leggette is a senior. You can come on up. Come on up. Miss Leggette is a senior at Menchville High School. She brings a wealth of leadership to this position and she is active in numerous school and community organizations. Your family members are welcome to join you for your oath of commitment. Miss Leggette, as school
007board chairwoman, I have the honor and privilege of leading your oath of commitment. Please raise your right hand. Please repeat after me. I, Kyla Leggette, do solemnly affirm that I will support the mission of Newport News public schools that I will support the mission of Newport News Public Schools. And I will faithfully perform my duties as the student representative to the school board. And I will faithfully perform my duties as a student representative to the school board. I will attend school board meetings and participate in board functions. I will attend schoolboard meetings and participate in board functions. I will serve as facilitator to the superintendent's student advisory group on education. I will serve as facilitator to the superintendent student advisory group on education. I will contribute to school board discussion. I will contribute to schoolboard
008discussion. I will strive to fulfill the responsibilities of this position while excelling in my studies. I will strive to fulfill the responsibilities of my position while succeeding in my studies according to the best of my abilities. Miss Leggette, congratulations and welcome to the school board. [Applause] Would you like to offer a few comments? Yes, please. Wonderful. As I'm sworn in today, I'm extremely honored and grateful for this opportunity. I promise to strive to ensure every student's voice, experiences, and concerns are honored and valued to ensure we strive to a better future. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you. And you may now take your seat on the desk. [Applause] Good evening, Newport News family. Good evening. Okay, I'm gonna try that again. Good evening, Newport News family. Well, we're back here again, y'all. We're starting a new
009school year. I'm excited. I don't know about you, but you got to get excited. Our kids are coming back next Monday. Well, this next presentation is a special one. So, if the entire school board will please come down to the front. Our next recognition this evening is an an acknowledgment of service for Mrs. Surles Lisa Surles-Law. Mrs. Surles-Law, please come forward. Newport News Public Schools resolution of recognition and appreciation presented to Lisa R. Surles-Law in honor of dedicated service as school board chairman July 1, 2022 to July 30th, 2025. Whereas the Newport News School Board, a duly elected body, is charged with establishing and maintaining a system of public schools within the city of Newport News. And whereas Newport News public school board operational goals are to develop policies that promote student achievement and the
010wise management of resources. And whereas leadership of the school board through challenging times and major decisions is vital and valued. Whereas the members of the Newport News School Board hold an office of shared power and responsibility guided by a chairman who precides over meetings of the board. And whereas Lisa Surles-Law was an unanimously voted chairman of the school board on July 1, 2022 during the school board organizational meeting and was subsequent subsequently voted for a second one-year term as chairman during the July 1, 2023 organizational meeting and to a third one-year term as chairman during the July 1, 2024 organizational meeting. And whereas Mrs. Surles-Law provided sage advice and support as Newport News public schools navigated the post covid 19 pandemic through adaptation and the return to normal operations. And whereas Mrs. Surles-Law led the
011school board through significant challenge during a turbulent time. Whereas Mrs. Surles-Law guided the superintendent search appointment of superintendent Dr. Michelle Mitchell and whereas Mrs. Surles-Law provided leadership and securing a fully funded operating budget for NNPS. And whereas Mrs. Surles-Law communicated with and maintained the school board's relationship with city council. And whereas Mrs. Surles-Law led the school board in breaking ground of the new Huntington Middle School through a partnership with the city of Newport News. And whereas as chairman Lisa Surles-Law devoted herself to furthering the mission of ensuring that all students graduate career, college and citizen ready. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Newport News School Board acknowledges and extends its gratitude to Lisa Surles-Law for her dedicated leadership and service as chairman of the Newport News School Board from July 1, 2022 to June
01230th, 2025. Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be spread across the minutes of this meeting for all to acknowledge. In witness thereof, we have here unto set our hands this 19th day of August 2025. The resolution is signed by all the members of the school board and Dr. Mitchell of honor of your service. Thank you, Mrs. Surles-Law. You all come around and get a picture. Stay. Don't go anywhere. Don't go anywhere. Miss Harris, come back. Okay. At this time, we will take six minute break so that all of our guests may leave. If you desire to do so, you are more welcome to stay with us this evening. During this time, our viewing audience will be able to enjoy this month's school board spotlight. So, we'll stand in recess for six
013minutes. Thank you. [Music] Newport News Public Schools and Christopher Newport University partnered together for the annual STEM Community Day hosted at CNU's Freeman Center. The event was open to all with thousands of students and families attending to enjoy hands-on STEM activities, make and take projects, robotic competitions, engineering challenges, scientific performances, and more. Each Newport News School set up and hosted their own interactive learning station, showcasing many of the cuttingedge technologies that advance student learning every day. Guests were also welcome to engage with community partners and explore possible career pathways found through STEM education. Through eyeopening activities, inspiring professionals, and fun engineering competitions, families enjoyed viewing firsthand the future of science and technology in our schools and beyond. Once again, Newport News Public Schools is recognized as one of the best communities for music education across
014the nation. Every spring, the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on investing in the future of music, awards school districts that display outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders who have worked together to make music part of a well-rounded education. For the eighth year, Newport News Public Schools has received this award for their deep commitment to music education and excellence with music education offered at all grade levels, music festivals to showcase student talent, and summer programs that make music a year-long endeavor. Newport News Public Schools demonstrates an exceptionally high commitment to music education and a healthy music community. For the fourth year, the community came together for the Newport News Public Schools and Newport News Education Foundation Golf Classic held at the Kiln Creek Golf Club and Resort,
015one of the top five courses in the Commonwealth. The annual Golf Classic is a wonderful way for golf enthusiasts and local sponsors to support the students and educators in Newport News. This year's turnout was the largest yet with school leaders, educators, both current and retired, community partners, and students supporting a worthy cause while enjoying a day of golf on a pristine course. Through this fundraiser, the Newport News Education Foundation provides many grants to teachers, supports students who plan to become educators through the Wayne Dlet scholarship, and cultivates important relationships between local business partners and the schools. Local gardening pros are helping students enhance their green thumb during the 2024 2025 school year. Newport News Master Gardeners Association awarded 10 horiculture grants to public and private schools in Newport News, including six grants assisting sites in
016Newport News public schools. Each grant of up to $500 allowed students to enhance their horicultural awareness and their appreciation of gardening through engaging hands-on activities and student based projects. At an achievable dream middle school, students were able to grow fresh fruits and vegetables from seeds in their brand new outdoor life science learning lab. They also utilized their math skills by measuring the plant's height and width to graph their growth. At Huntington Middle School, students participated in garden therapy as part of the school's social emotional learning program, learning to care for plants while also caring for themselves and others. The grant funds purchased plants, gardening tools, art materials, and the creation of a dedicated nature space in the school. Students were able to plant their own succulents and herbs while also monitoring and recording growth patterns.
017and Woodside High School received two grants, allowing more students to experience the joys of gardening. Near the start of the school year, master gardeners visited the school to volunteer their time and share their knowledge as they help students plant a variety of herbs and vegetables. Students placed the seed trays in a mini greenhouse as they watched their harvest grow from seeds to supper. While another group of Woodside students worked with master gardeners to design and build an inviting walkway in front of the school, complete with native plants representing Woodides school colors. The beautify Woodside project was completely studentdriven while also using additional funds from an ask hrgreen.org environmental education miniigrant. Thanks to Newport News Master Gardeners, our schools are creating unique hands-on learning experiences that help students grow. Ship builders are helping fifth grade students
018at Stony Run and Yates Elementary Schools realize their fullest potential through Try Engineering Together. Students in Amanda Huey and Dejene Menddees's classes were paired up with caring employees from Newport News Ship Building, a division of Huntington Industries. Through Cricut Media's digital platform, Cricut Together, students and ementors from Newport New Ship Building spent the school year corresponding with one another electronically. Using this secure online platform, teachers were able to moderate discussions to ensure safety and compliance. Students accessed interesting STEM content through Cricket Together's extensive database, which was then shared automatically with their ementors to explore topics together, such as robotics, living in space, natural disasters, and drones. This past school year, students at both schools and their e mentors shared over a thousand letters reinforcing literacy growth, reading comprehension, and communication skills while exploring relevant academic
019content and career pathways. Near the end of the school year, the Yates students were lucky enough to meet many of their mentors in person for the very first time. Mentors who live locally were excited to sit face to face with their student mentees and their classmates. Continuing conversations that had previously taken place online to reinforce STEM connections, students and ship builders collaborated on a fun maritime themed engineering design challenge while reinforcing competitive workforce skills of critical thinking, self-confidence, and teamwork by building meaningful relationships between students and caring ementors. Try engineering together. increased student interest in STEM careers while equipping them with the literacy and life skills to dream big. Thanks to invested adult mentors, students at six elementary schools across Newport News are building life skills to promote positive outcomes. Organized by the NNPS youth
020development team, the level up mentoring program invites select students to participate in monthly small groupoup sessions to focus on decision-making, skill building, and pro-social behavior. at Carver, Jenkins, Kiln Creek, Newsome Park, Sedgefield, and Stony Run Elementary Schools. School leaders, staff, and community partners, including the Newport News Police Department, work closely with students to engage them in evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies. During the monthly sessions, adult mentors guide the students through activities covering a range of topics including growth mindset, overcoming challenges, servant leadership, and coping strategies. Between these monthly sessions, police officers visit schools during fun Fridays to informally check in with participating mentees and build positive relationships with all students. Assigned staff members also offer continuous support to LevelUp students and monitor their progress. As a result of the quality time invested by these devoted
021adult volunteers, LevelUp students have decreased their discipline referrals while increasing compassion, empathy, and cooperative skills resulting in academic and social successes. And we are back. I did omit letting you know that Mr. Douglas Brown is absent. He has an excused absence today. So I would like for the record to reflect that. I hope that you enjoyed this month's school board spotlight. During our regular meetings, we provide time for the public to address the school board. These opportunities are scheduled in the early part of our agenda and towards the end of the meeting. As advertised, citizens may submit comments via email up to 30 minutes prior to our meeting time to be included in the official meeting record. For those of you joining us in person, the board considers this an opportunity to listen to your
022comments. Please understand, we will consider your concerns. We ask that you comply with our three minute time limit. As you begin your comments, a green light will come on. A yellow light signals that you have 30 seconds remaining and a red light and beep indicates your time is up. As your name is called, please come forward. Reverend Natalie Chamberlain. And she will be followed by Mrs. Jacqueline Batterson. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Natalie Chamberlain. My pronouns are she and her. I'm part of a broad coalition of citizens who've been attending these meetings for more than two years now. We support equality and respectful treatment of all children, including trans and other LGBTQI plus youth. I'm well aware that you have no intention of changing policy, JBP, but I'm not here
023for you. I'm here for all of the trans students and staff and those who love them. I recently preached a sermon about the parable you probably know as the good Samaritan. Jesus told the parable because an expert in the law was looking for a way to justify his conduct. Jesus didn't tell the parable to convince the one asking the question. that one had already made up his mind about his obligations to his neighbors. Jesus told the parable because there was an audience listening in on the exchange. Jesus taught the overhearers. Tonight, I'm telling you that there are trans students and staff in your school district. These humans, these neighbors of mine are at greater risk of bullying and mistreatment. And this often leads to mental health issues including suicide suicidal ideiation and attempts. You may
024not want to risk ask acting on their behalf, but they need to know that they are seen and heard. They are beloved children of God. Even if they are not loved by those who are charged with protecting them, we are here and we will continue to be here. You may choose not to act, but you can never say you didn't know action was needed. We will be here for the queer community. We will be here for the trans community. And when the next suicide attempt is more successful than the last, we will be here for you, too. Thank you. [Applause] And after Miss Batterson, Mr. Adam moral. My name is Jackie Batterson and I am a resident of Newport News. I would first like to express my thanks to Mrs. Surles Law as former chairperson
025for her professionalism in chairing those meetings. Secondly, I wish the new chairperson, Dr. Best, the best of luck. At the end of this month, school will begin for a new academic year. I have been requesting that you review your procedure JB-P to match the corresponding policy. This policy states you respect and ensure the dignity of all the students in the school system. To respect our transgender children, all you need to do is call them by their chosen name and preferred gender. This does not change their official record. Please do not try and tell us there is nothing the school board can do. You are elected leaders. You are responsible for the decisions that are made. You can make the changes for these children simply with the political will to do so. Five school districts in
026this state have chosen to stand up for their transgender students even under the threat of no federal funding. After abolishing the Department of Education, I am not sure you should depend on any funding from this Washington administration. This ends when enough of us say no. I end with these quotes. This is a reminder that you do not need to fully understand the nuances of gender identity to know that the individual person knows exactly who they are better than you. Martin Luther King said, "Never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Thank you for your time. Thank you, [Applause] Mr. Adam Marorrow and he will be followed by
027Tyler Elder. Good evening again, ladies and gentlemen of the board. Uh it's a pleasure to be here once more sharing my views with the honorable student count the honorable school board. Sorry, it was briefly back in high school days. Um, now there's a lot I would like to say to you. I I am going to briefly touch on collective bargaining and that I hope you'll be willing to contribute to the welfare of teachers and students by supporting that policy, but I'd like to be able to talk more about all the benefits it can provide. I'd like to compliment you on some of the excellent things I've heard about the Newport News curriculum for high school students and the med and the things students are learning. But instead, I'm going to be talking about one group
028of students you're failing: your queer students. It's not a big change we're asking. I know it's probably scary for you, but it's a very small change that means a lot to some of your most marginalized and mistreated students, the ones who don't quite fit in, which that's a category I fit in. And it was a long journey to figure that out. And any support from adults in my life would have been amazing. And again, it's not a lot. Call someone by the name they like. Call someone, speak about someone using the pronouns they prefer. That's all we're asking. You can do it. [Applause] Mr. Tyler Elbert will be followed by Dr. Yansy. My name is Tyler Eldrid and I'm an alumni of Newport News Public School System, the son of a retired teacher of the
029Newport News Public School System, and an organizer with Todd Water Democratic Socialists of America. And I'm here today to speak on the behalf of Collective Bargaining for Newport News teachers and staffs. Coinciding with the increasing waves of attacks on our public school system in recent years, there has been this divisive idea that it's the teachers versus the students or that it's the teachers versus the parents. And nothing could be more wrong and disrespectful to our dedicated teachers and staff. On the contrary, it is clear to me that an investment in our teachers and staff is an investment in our students, in our parents, in our communities. It is the teachers and staff who are there to educate our children when the world was falling apart from a global pandemic, taking on the hazards of COVID
030infection, when there was no hazard pay to support them. It is teacher and staff like my mother who I watched be there for students when their own parents weren't always able to be, who can calm a classroom as chaotic as the Sea of Galilee with a word. who instill inspiration, genius, and courage to young men and women who had already been starting to give up all hope. And it is teachers and staff who are right there on the front lines every day who can tell you more than anyone what is happening in our schools and what they need in the system to succeed. I know that everyone who joined this school board did so out of a passion for seeing our students and our community succeed and invite you to unleash that passion through our
031teachers and staff by granting them the collective bargaining rights that they deserve and that we desperately need. Thank you. [Applause] Following Dr. Yansy, Dr. James Graves. Good evening, board members. My name is Dr. Yansy. I am a mental health professional. I have a private practice offering mental health services from age five to 95. Eight months ago, the Virginia Department of Education put out a proposal looking for service providers to offer statewide mental health services to all the schools in the state of Virginia. And we found out about six months ago that we were awarded that contract. And so we are looking for support from the districts. We have been zigzagging the state talking with districts to provide telehealth services to your children as well as your staff inside of your schools. I am located my
032headquarters is right here in the Tidewater area. I canvas different cities. Tomorrow I'll be at Heritage Middle School. So I already support many of your students even today. But this particular contract allows us to scale to be globalized. The proposal that the Department of Education put out was nationwide and so 10 providers have been selected, eight of which are outside of the state of Virginia. So, I am your hometown provider. And so, that is the epitome of boots on the ground. I'm working and canvasing. Um, I have reached out to your board. I have submitted documentation to all of you guys. I am looking for support. Our children need us. They need to understand that they have a place with therapy. They need to understand what the therapy practice is all about, what the field
033of therapy is all about. We need to support our young people. 15% of children inside of public schools have behavioral issues. That leaves anywhere from 80 to 85% that do not have visible behavioral concerns. And we want to reach out to those students as well. And so we've put together an initiative that supports 100% access at no cost to families. I thank you so much for your time and I please hope that you guys will reach back out to me um if you deem that we are available to support your school. Um, a lot of the districts that I have spoken to, they have concerns uh with finances, but DBHDS just recently put out a request for proposal for districts who would like some supports up to $300,000 for telehealth services. You do have to
034have picked a provider. It does not have to be one of the 10 providers, but you do have to have a provider that you list on the application for the award. So my group is offering to support you in that application. Thank you for your time. Thank you. After Dr. Graves will be Tiffany Hill. Good evening, chair, Dr. Best, Vice Chair, Mrs. Alger, Superintendent Dr. Mitchell, and other members of the school board. It is my pleasure to present to you the resolution for collective bargaining. You all have copies of it. Everybody have a copy? Thank you. Also known as contract negotiations for our hardworking News public school teachers and staff. I have emailed the resolution also to your chair and hand the board members the paper copies. Teachers and staff working conditions are student learning
035conditions. Studies show that school systems with strong union contacts or contracts have lower turnover rates because of stable, experienced teachers and more effective in the classroom. While high turnover hurts student achievement, collective bargaining gives educators and school staff a structure way to advocate for what our students really need. When Newport News Public Schools become the first Hampton Roads district to allow its employees a seat at the negotiating table, we believe employee retention rates will improve as well as well-qualified candidates will flock to New Public Schools because they have a contract. Many VA locals across the state have already secured collective bargaining. Bargainner rights for their staff and teachers include Richmond Education Association, Arlington Education Association, Falls Church, Prince William County, Lowden County, Fairfax, Montgomery County, Charlottesville, Albamarle County, and Harris um Harrisonburg. So, what is
036the cost to implement collective bargaining? VA, who is our state affiliate, has worked hard to make Virginia school systems transition to contract negotiations as affordable and reasonablly price as possible. Uh the cost such as about 60,000 for the first year of negotiations and about 18,000 for each uh year after negotiations. Most Virginia schools districts have um implemented collective bargaining have chosen to hire a labor administrator or director to facilitate. However, VA notes that this is not required. A school system could save funds by creating a joint panel or schoolboard members union members as a neutral third party that meets on and as needed basis to oversee contract negotiations. Please also note that the biggest goal of contract negotiations is improved working conditions. Many improvements in working conditions recommend teachers and staff can be implemented at
037low cost as well as no cost. Passing this collective bargaining resolution will make a great impact on Newport News Public Schools 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:37,130 and this community. Thank you very much. [Applause] Following Miss Tiffany Hill, Miss Aaron Babcock. Good evening. How y'all doing? My name is Tiffany Hill. I am here about moving the kids bus stop further from their home. Um, I'm a mom of four boys. Um, and I also have been a teacher for 18 years. So, I understand how it goes when we're short staffed and it's a money issue. It's a budget issue, but my main concern is the safety of the children. Um, this year my son was able to go to acheivable dream middle school and this was the first time um in 11 years that he was able to walk
038off my street without a parent. Um, and they moved his bus stop. I stay off of 36 and Chestnut, but they moved his bus stop to um 31st and Oak Avenue. Um and he was one of the children that got caught out um last year where the lady got shot off of Ron Avenue and was standing outside the bus. So my son is kind of traumatized. So when they moved this bus stop to Oak and 32nd Street, the bus came late, which is understandable because it's summer school. Um, but it was two ladies out there fighting, throwing clothes in the street, just just acting crazy. So, I got in contact with transportation and I let them know, "Hey, can you move my son's bus stop closer to home because y'all drive back and forth up
039Chestnut? You have to pass Chestnut to get to Achievable Dream Middle School." She told me, "No, call the police." And I said, "Well, he's alive and he doesn't understand that if they're out there fighting and acting up to call the police. He's scared." She said, "Well, make him walk on the sidewalk." I said, "So, is that supposed to keep him safe?" Because he's walking on the sidewalk. He still has to walk from 36th Street to 30th Street in Oak where it's not safe. Well, send him to 36 in Orchid. Ma'am, so I tried it. It was a man outside pooping on the on a on a girl on the sidewalk. I said, "Ma'am, you have to understand the locations of where you sending these children to. That's not safe. Safety should be the main priority."
040Like I said, I explained the fact that he got caught out there with the lady standing on top of the bus. Um, I felt that maybe if the bus drivers get paid a little bit more for what they do because they are putting their livelihood at risk and they do go through drama and trauma trying to keep our children safe. Um, last year I was able to witness by being home um under work cuz I had surgery where parents was fussing and acting a pretty fool behind their children and the bus drivers were sitting there like what am I supposed to do because now their livelihoods are at stake. So, I get why there's a shortage because they don't want to risk their livelihood behind little Johnny. But I believe if little Johnny is not
041acting right and following the policy of the bus, then little Johnny mom need to take him to school. I don't believe other children should have to suffer because little Johnny, little Susie are acting up on the bus. My main concern is the bus driver being safe. getting the kids to school and from school. I understand it's a privilege and I feel if we back the bus drivers, let them know that we're enforcing the policy. If your children can't act right, they have to go. So that's Thank you. Following this Aaron Babcock will be Mr. David Breman. Good evening, members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Aaron Babcock. I'm here tonight as a parent and community member deeply frustrated by the district's recent decision to change the start
042and end times of several schools just weeks before the school year begins. I acknowledge that I am not about to tell you anything that you do not already know, but it still all needs to be said over and over as many times as it takes. These changes have real consequences, and it is very clear that those consequences were not considered. This board's decisions, I believe, show a disrespect for working families, especially those with little flexibility and few resources. It also speaks to a troubling lack of transparency and accountability in the way that this board makes decisions that impact thousands of lives. Even worse, community organizations that could have helped could have helped fill the gap in child care were not given advanced notice. That was not just a logistical failure. That was a complete breakdown
043in communication and planning. We are now watching the fallout of that failure now. Not just in disrupted families, but in a bus system that is on the verge of collapse. Let's stop pretending that the bus driver shortage just happened. It didn't just happen. It's the result of underpaying and undervaluing essential employees as well as a total failure to enforce consequences for student misbehavior on buses. Drivers are regularly disrespected and harassed and nothing happens. Students who endanger others seem to face no consequences. Parents who enable this behavior are certainly not being held accountable. The system is broken and no one wants to work in a place where they're treated like they are disposable. So tonight I ask, what is the board doing to ensure that families will never again be blindsided by sudden disruptive changes? What
044steps are being taken to encourage community partnerships before these changes happen so that we can make sure that all children have safe places to go before and after school? And what are you doing urgently to protect our bus drivers and staff by finally enforcing basic expectations for student behavior and accountability? Thank you. Thank you. Following Mr. Cooper Bowen. Good evening board members and welcome Representative Le. I'm Newport News Public School alum Dave Brakman. He/him and I urge you to pass Dr. Graves resolution tonight for collective bargaining. Being on the record against unions today will certainly hurt anyone seeking re-election. And a framework by which the people doing the work can negotiate as a group about it when it counts is the shest way to obtain and protect the pay and conditions they deserve. If you
045want to know how to attract and retain bus drivers, they'll tell you if you allow yourself to listen. um maybe we can get it in contracts that being shot at is not an expected um occupational hazard for teachers. Um and the same framework uh for negotiating as a group um improves the quality of work that is done that is here done for our kids. Um, empowered unions have won improved quality of life as well for everyone outside of unions and that the moderately tangential relationship to what I usually talk about here uh is that I'm sure many of many of you are upset about procedure JBP and are continuing to do everything you can to change it against steep opposition and An empowered union might give you the support you need from teachers, counselors, and
046staff who don't want to be forced to be mean to kids to serve as pawn scoring political points against the scapegoats of MAGA's culture war. And when it comes to listening to the public and to your workers, put your money where your mouth is and pass collective bargaining. Following Mr. Bowen is Reette. Good evening members of the board. My name is Cooper. I'm a student at Christopher Newport University and organizer with the Tidewater Democratic Socialist of America. As a recent graduate of the public school system and neighboring York County School Division, I've seen the effort our teachers put in to provide a meaningful educational experience for every student. They don't do this work for the paid. We know that because if they did, they wouldn't be working here. The system of our teachers going well
047past their job description without the support they need from school administration must end in order to provide the best educational possible for every student. Uh we must support our teachers. Beyond our teachers, uh our public schools would not be able to function without those supporting the system. notably our bus drivers who deal with the unruly students and parents with limited support from our school board. This is why I'm asking for you to recognize the right of our public school employees to collectively bargain to allow our school to continue to function while giving our employees the basic benefits and pay to live a respectable life. The only way for our public school system to improve is by including its employees in the conversation through collective bargaining. To be clear, a no vote on the resolution on
048collective bargaining is a vote against workers, against teachers, and against the students we're all here for today. That vote would be remembered by those who put you in public office. Furthermore, I want to comment on the uh transgender model policy, JB-P, which puts the safety of transgender students at risk, especially those coming from abusive homes. While this is the first time I'm speaking at the school board, comrades and friends have been asking for change for nearly two years at this point. It's well past time we protect our transgender and gender non-conforming students. Uh the continued capitulation to the Youngkin and Trump administration when push comes to shove needs to end and I urge the school board to take immediate action to overturn policy JP and procedure JBP. The safety and livelihoods of your students depends
049on it. You have a responsibility to uh today to protect your employees and students and I hope you do so. Thank you. [Applause] And after Reverend Bernett is Miss Alyssa Ready. Good evening members of the board. My name is Reverend Michael Bernett and I'm no stranger. I've been coming here along with many other folks for close to two years now to talk about procedure JBP. Before I talk about that, I am wearing red tonight for a good reason. As a son of a tradesman, I I can tell you that my childhood would not have been nearly as nice as it was had it not been for a union that supported my father. I know that unions benefit workers and also ultimately their employers and I hope you give serious consideration to that resolution. Now, a
050lot of what I say about JBP tonight is going to be rehashing because two years down the road, there's not a whole lot new to be said. And I understand, like my colleague Natalie, that we might be barking up a tree. But the fact of the matter remains, you have had before you for a full year now some common sense middle-of the road procedural changes to JBP proposed that were emailed and physically handed to you that would without reverting to the Northam policies that some found too sweeping and distasteful. nonetheless moderate the Youngkin model policies. For instance, rather than requiring teachers to use a student's preferred name, now they are prohibited from using their preferred name. One of the modifications was to simply allow your teachers to use a student's preferred name. That not only
051protects the welfare of marginalized students, but also the liberties of freedom of speech and expression of your teachers. It benefits everyone. Now, it doesn't fit any particular political agenda. It doesn't fall into the red team or blue team rhetoric, but y'all are supposed to be nonpartisan, right? You're not beholden to any political parties, despite what the contributions might say. the courage to act in a nonpartisan manner for the good first and foremost of your students, your staff, and the citizens you serve and not political parties is going to become increasingly important as the bipartisan authoritarian effort by federal and state governments to increase the power and control of government continues. If no, when th those above you begin to start encroaching on your authority as a local school board that has been duly vested in
052you by your citizens, I hope you find the courage to do what is right for your citizenry and not for somebody in some office who does not even know your name. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Alyssa. Actually, my name is Dr. Alyssa Ready. It's a new title for me because I have a doctorate in educational leadership. I'm here to address the recent school hour change. Not to argue against the change itself, but to highlight a serious failure in communication and planning by the board. The sudden announcement put an immense strain on families and I'm here to ask the board to consider three main points. First, there was a complete failure to plan with the community. The school division failed to coordinate with key community partners, especially Newport News Parks and Recreation. Parks
053and Rec is the largest provider of before and after care for the city. And the registration deadline, FYI, was July 21st for returning families. That was publicly available on their website. It's in their social media. However, you all announced the school hour change on July 30th, 9 days after many families already registered for before and after care, which led many of us not capable of asking for before care because all the spots were full. They were full three days prior. You gave an unfair and unrealistic deadline. Families were given three weeks to adjust to this major change. This is an impossible deadline for working parents who rely on planned child care, who have no local family or have children who are too young to stay home alone. In contrast, the school bus division was given
054until July 24th and had a special held meeting to address a problem that has existed for years. It's unacceptable that parents and families were given so little time to solve a problem that the school division itself created and ultimately displaced funding challenges to parents. This disparity highlights a lack of consideration for families most impacted by this decision. I believe there needs to be more accountability and stronger leadership because this demonstrates a complete lack of strategic leadership. I speak to this because I have a doctorate in educational leadership and I earned that degree alongside many schoolboard members in this state. It didn't seem like the board seemed to consider how this decision would impact families, major employers or community partners and only made that decision with the information that the bus company provided at that meeting.
055We need to move away from reactive decisions towards proactive inclusive approach that considers all stakeholders when we're considering last minute changes. To me, it's easy. phase the change in. Give more time for families to make adjustments. Even easier, any one of you could have googled the parks and rec registration deadlines. Because calling everyone the next day, hearing that was the first time they heard about it and all their spots were full. I just wish you all were with me in that 24h hour to 48 hour period where I was panicking about where to send my kindergartener, first grader, and third grader. What reassurance will you give us that you're not going to make isolated decisions? Thank you. [Applause] Are there any more cards? Thank you. Thank you for your comments and thoughts this evening. We
056will now move on to section three, the consent agenda, which includes 3.01 01 minutes from the closed meeting June 3rd 2025 3.02 minutes from the special meeting June 3rd 2025 3.03 minutes from the work session June 17 2025 3.04 minutes from the close meeting June 17 2025 3.05 minutes from the regular meeting June 17 2025 3.6 Six minutes from the close meeting July 1st 2025 3.07 minutes from the organizational meeting July 1st 2025 3.08 Minutes from the school board retreat July 24th July 24th 2025 3.09 Financial Reports including revenue and expense reports for July 2025 3.10 10 the personnel reports 3.11 easement Lucas Creek to Atinson Boulevard 3.12 appointment of deputy clerk 3.13 VOE authorization form maritime engineering and environ and environmental science environmental studies academy at this time can we have a motion to
057approve the consent agenda I move to approve the consent agenda as presented We have a second. Second. Is there any questions or discussion? Miss Buffalo call the vote. Alger. Harris for. Hunter Surles law for. Best for. Motion passes 6. Thank you. We will move to section four action items 4.011 personnel actions. Dr. Mitchell. Thank you, Madame Chair. I'd like to recommend the following individuals for positions with Newport News Public Schools. Miss Caitlyn Caesar as the new elementary assistant principal at an achievable dream academy. Miss Caesar has a master's of arts in education from American University. She currently works as an administrative assistant in Newport News Public Schools at Newsome Park. She is a previous teacher from Newport News Public Schools. Next, I'd like to recommend Miss Heather Evans as the new elementary assistant principal at
058Hidenwood Elementary. Miss Evans has an education specialist degree from Old Dominion University. She currently works as a senior education specialist with Virginia Commonwealth University. She previously has held the positions of teacher, assistant principal, and principal in other districts. And interestingly enough, she started her teaching career years ago right here in Newport News. I'd like to recommend Dr. Naomi Oliver as the new director of federal programs. Dr. Oliver has a doctorate of education in curriculum and instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. She currently works as the director of state and federal programs with Port Huron area schools in Michigan. And my last recommendation this evening is Miss Stephanie Ro Gilliam as a new secondary assistant principal at Woodside High School. Miss Ro Gileiam has an education specialist degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She currently
059works as an instructional coach on the division level with NOFK public schools. Thank you, Madam Chair. At this time, we'll entertain a motion to approve the personnel recommendations. I move to approve the superintendent's personnel recommendations for Miss Caitlyn Caesar as the new elementary assistant principal location to be determined, Miss Heather Evans as the new elementary assistant principal of Hidenwood Elementary, Dr. Naomi Oliver as the new director of federal programs and Miss Stephanie Rol Gilliam as the new secondary assistant principal at Woodside High School. We have a second. Second. It's been moved and second that we approve Dr. Mitchell's personnel recommendations. Any discussions or questions? Um, Miss Ala want to um include achievable dream for Yes. First person. I'm sorry. So, Miss uh Caitlyn Caesar is being recommended as the assistant principal at an achievable dream.
060Achievable dream. I apologize for that. No, you're fine. So, do we need to do something else to amend the motion? Okay. Any questions? Any discussion? All right. Who second? Okay. Alger four. Aean Harris four. Hunter four. Soros Law four. Best four. Motion passes 6. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you. We will move to section five reports and information 5.01 summer programming summer programming and back to school reports. Dr. Mitchell. Thank you again, Madam Chair. This evening, Dr. Kip Rogers will come before you to share with you about our summer programming. I'm sorry, I didn't have my mic on. Dr. Kip Rogers will come to share summer programming and a back to school report. And as soon as Dr. Rogers finishes. Mr. Wade Beverly will come up to finish the back to school report. Thank you, Dr. Mitchell.
061Good evening, chairwoman, Dr. Best, Vice Chair, Mrs. Alger, members of the school board, and Dr. Mitchell. This evening, I'm going to share an update as Dr. Mitchell shared relative to our summer learning programs and particularly Camp Elevate, which is our name the name of our summer school. We changed the name last year and you may recall that we previewed these programs that I'll talk about during your May workshop meeting. I'm excited to share that this summer we supported more than 5,000 students through a v a variety of programming this summer which is one of our largest attendance rates during the summer over recent years. And several of our summer opportunities I will speak to on the next slide. More specifically, you'll see that we serve 4,044 students across seven locations through our Camp Elevate summer
062programs. Camp Elevate offered a range of enriching learning experiences that captivated, inspired, and challenged our students. We provided activities that spanned literature, math, science, all while ensuring fun and interactive camplike atmospheres. Additionally, camp ele at camp elevate, we hosted several other sever several other programs that I'll share. Uh we offer steam programs that were designed for our students in rising fourth grade through 10th grade, excuse me, rising third grade through 10th grade. And those camps were held at Hines Middle School where we served 638 students. Those camps provided exciting enrichment activities in science, technology, engineering, arts as well as mathematics. We also served 131 students in our summer institute for the arts program and those students participated in courses around music, visual arts, as well as theater. Our career pathway summer interns program spanned 13
063locations and those students were able to participate in internship projects across Newport News public schools departments and they explored careers that were of interest of them. And lastly, I'll just share our strings for success program is in partnership with the edgesar performing arts society incorporated. And that was a summer enrichment activity for rising sixth and seventh grade students and that was held at High Middle School as well. And you'll notice our extended school year programs were offered for our students with disabilities and that's according to their IEPs and that extends their learning from the fall and spring. So, what you have in front of you is our enrollment data by site. And you'll see that we had 1358 students enrolled in our elementary program and 1,267 students in our middle school program and just over
0641,400 students in our high school program. In the bottom of that chart, you'll see we've got we have increases at the elementary level as well as the middle school level. And you'll notice a decrease of 252 students at the high school level. I think it's important to note that that number does reflect we have 408 students less enrolled in our recovery courses and we have 154 more students enrolled in our advanced level courses advancement courses from the previous year which is good news. That's good news. We also provided opportunities for our students who chose not to participate in our regular summer school courses. We had 1,200 users who viewed our new summer learning portal for elementary students and they viewed the site 6,500 times which averaged five to six sites visits per user. Uh new
065users are up 158% from the previous year. So we're excited about that. We also started to provide opportunities for our secondary students. they had access to which is our summer learning boost program for our secondary students and we will expand that to be commenurate with what we have for our elementary students. This year we did have 120 students that access that site and they were primarily students in upper math level courses. Our average daily attendance per site ranged from 73.2% 2% average daily attendance to 97.1% at a high school. And if you'll remember, our elementary students are in summer camp for 16 days and our high school students have uh 12 day per semester, per session. So, and high school kids have to come in order to get the credit. They can only miss one
066day. So, last the difference in attendance there. Absolutely. Our extended learning initiatives uh thrive with our strong support from our learning partners and we have several of them listed there. And I'll just point out we have strong partnerships with NASA, Virginia Air and Space Center and the Mariners Museum. And I do want to point out that the flying classroom provided live virtual lessons to our K2 students daily with parent communications. As you know, our elementary students do not receive like a report card grade. We do communicate with our families weekly and to keep them informed and involved throughout the program, we send digital newsletters that we call the camp elevate corner through blackboard, text message as well as email. And each camp elevate corner included literacy, math, science information that would all that are all
067based on the Virginia standards of learning. And each newsletter also provided guiding questions for our families to be able to ask their children about the weekly leadership topic that students were developing. And all communication was sent in English as well as in Spanish. So how did our students do? Our middle school students who attended Camp Elevate received lessons in English, math, and science for remediation and preparation for the upcoming school year, especially on so assessments. And the successful high school camp elevate program achieved impressive recovery rates as you'll note on the slide in front of you. In math, our students attained a pass rate of 96%, English at 95% and science and social studies also showed strong results with pass rates of 98 and 99% respectively. And those outcomes highlight the effectiveness of Camp Elevate
068in helping our students catch up and or excel in their academic in end endeavors. One of the highlights of the summer is attending our summer graduation and we graduated 43 students to enter either the workforce, military and or higher education. So congratulations to those students as well. And in reference to getting ready for fall 2025 that starts in about a week, uh we shared a little bit about what the department of teaching learning is preparing or has worked toward preparing to receive our our students in about a week or so. And of course, you know, our teachers returned last week, new teachers and this week our returning teachers. But the department department of teaching and learning, we've been hard at work building on the progress that we made in curriculum and instruction last year. And
069our dedicated directors, supervisors, instructional staff, specialists, and coaches have been focused on sever several key areas this past spring as well as this summer. And we talked about it briefly during your work session earlier this evening. Uh we've been continuing the work of streamlining the Newport News public schools curriculum across all grade levels in K through 12. And as was shared with you, we partnered with Allison Zamura last year and continue some of that work the early part of uh this year and we started working with Dr. Chris Garry's out of William and Mary to actualize some of the recommendations that were made through the curriculum audit and the team has done an excellent job with that work and we're super proud of them. Uh we are certainly prepared to implement our Newport News public
070schools created curriculum for elementary math and science and our teachers are excited about that. If you remember we did utilize Hampton City Schools curriculum for the last couple of years and this year we will transition um from math and science. We already transitioned from reading or English. We will continue to use that resource for social studies this coming year while our team prepares the Newport News public schools curriculum for social studies for the the following year. And lastly, we are prepared and ready for our young scholars to come back to school uh with us on Monday, August 25. And with that, I will turn it over to Mr. Wade Beverly to share a little bit about facilities. In the meantime, do you have any questions? Any questions, Miss Damon? I have one very practical. I'm
071not sure who it's for. Um, parents with new students in the division because we're pretty strict on that have an ID to get on the bus. Will there be a grace period like the first week until the new students get their ID? Yes, there will. We will work with students and not turn away. Any other questions? Thank you. All right. Thank you. Good evening. I'm going to continue what we started about a month and a half ago, the the end of the report for back to school. And u as Mr. Hunter's always saying, plant services making great things happen. So, wanted to start out on a great note. Uh, Huntington, if you hadn't been by there lately, pretty much all elevations are up in the air. Uh, can we put that down just a little
072is is to our knowledge right now. In other words, everything's still on schedule. That could apt to change as we go through the process with uh electrical panels and things of that nature that's got long lead times. But, uh, in case you hadn't seen it, that's kind of a panoramic uh, panoramic view of the, uh, the construction site. And so, some construction projects around the uh, division. Richneck, we did enclose the pod area and doing some modifications around the uh, the property. Yates is in the process of getting its new safe secure entrance. Passage is getting a HVAC replacement. Booker T. Washinton's getting HVAC replacement. Newsome park got new uh case work this summer and Menchville is in design for a new front entrance and we're still in the process of doing work high school's
073feasibility study for upcoming renovations. Uh I believe it's 21 safe secure entrance modifications we did this year and that's a list of those. I won't go through them but I've got some uh great pictures to show you and uh the only one that's not on there is Warwick High School and it should be done within the next two to three weeks. And there's some samples of the safe secure entrance. There's the new entrance to Crittenden and the new entrance to Knollwood Meadows, General Stanford, Sanford Elementary. And that is the construction work going on at Yates. That's the one on your right is looking at the uh inside. And the one on your left is where the new additions going. And these are some summer projects around the division. You know, as normal, we replace carpet
074everywhere. Uh sidewalks, slip, strips, and fall hazards. Uh domestic water upgrades going to on demand hot water. Uh doing some paving around the division. We did place the uh bleachers at Denbigh High School. Uh some border replacements at Marshall, HVAC units at Watkins. Just as you can see, just a lot of things going on. And so pictures for that is there's Denbigh, old on the left, new on the right. Looks I like showing pictures like that. Yeah, that looks nice. So this is the enclosure at Richneck. I don't know how many of you have been into the old pot area, but it was a open form area and so now it has hallways, egress, and exit doors and everybody is secure. and that should open with no problems uh Monday morning. This is a uh
075restroom renovation. We talked about that the last three years. I think we did 18 the first year, 28 last year, and I think we're doing 35 this year. And so that's a before and after at Riverside Elementary. A major difference. Kids are going to love it. This is a blower getting removed out of Mary Passage and some new blower motors getting installed at Mary Passage. This is some old equipment and some new equipment being replaced at Washington. This is some case work that's got replaced at uh Newsome Park. Some uh a parking lot repave job at Sanford and lightened up Crittenden Middle School tremendously. looks much better. This is our staffing levels right now. As you can see, the paint shop, we're we're kind of behind and HVAC and electrical. That's caused us a lot
076of problems this summer trying to keep up. Uh with custodial, we're not doing bad. Uh FMLA, we have three at any given time. So, this is just a snapshot in time. So, it changes every day. Is there any questions? That was great. Any questions? Any questions? I just want to say thank you for the pictures. Just to have the visual and to see the before and after is great. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. And we will now move to section five, reports and information 5.02, WHRO presentation. Dr. Mitchell. Thank you again, Madame Chair. Um, I'd like to invite Mr. Bert Schmidt to the podium. And as you remember, he comes to us every year to share the annual impact report. And I think you might have a video for us. I do. Okay. Dr.
077Best, Dr. Mitchell. Members of the board, thank you for allowing me to speak with you tonight. My name is Bert Schmidt. I'm the president, CEO of WHR. With me is my vice president of education, Elmer Seward. So, if we have any hard questions, I got backup. Okay. Um, I come to you because you're one of the 21 school divisions that literally own the license to WHRO. WHRO is the only media company in the entire country owned by Collaboration of Public Schools. So, we're very proud of that relationship. We meet regularly with the superintendent, representatives from the board, technology folks, etc. We provide you this impact statement each year and then I come out uh every couple years to answer any of your questions. In this report, we've summarized all the the 14 pages on that
078page two. I'm not going to go through all of it right now, but rather than hearing from me, we do have a video that we're going to play that summarizes the information in this report. Well, if you can hear it. high quality programs and services with nearly 100,000 free top quality instruction provides educators and students interactive games and platform learning and make class experiences more engaging for our learners offers their imagination visit elementary schools with programs tailored to standards of learning covering literacy numeracy science investigation and technology. We also supporting children for success in their early school years. For secondary educators, WH provides a catalog of 29 awards and digital resources. These media rich aligned courses are designed to integrate seamlessly with various learning management systems. They offer flexibility for face to face blended and
079fully online teaching environments enriching lessons with engaging content. At WH we celebrate students achievements through competitions that showcase their talents. The great computer challenge for example gather school teams from across the region at university to tackle real world technology problems. Another highlight is the town bank regional spelling where middle school champions compete at WH studio for a chance to advance to the scripts spelling be the local competition is recorded and aired on WH each April students also have an opportunity to shine for our PBS Kids writers contest. This competition invites young writers to craft and illustrate their original stories. fostering creativity and critical thinking. Our student advisory board reflects our commitment to student engagement. This group of high school students offers feedback on WHO's content and has opportunities to create their own influences and media
080resources. We're equally devoted to supporting educators through our professional development programs. Our workshops and training sessions provide teachers with cutting edge strategies and tools, empowering them to inspire and guide their students effectively. Visit WH's education web page to learn more about how these amazing free materials, programs, and resources can benefit you. at WH public media. We're proud to partner with our local school divisions and the Virginia Department of Education to shape the future of education one student at a time. Thank you for being very good listeners. My apologies on the audio. Uh I think the division has a link to the video so we want to share that um with with the board members. You'll be able to hear it a little bit better there. It's great audio if you could actually hear the whole
081thing. Um to just to summarize, um you'll see the an executive summary on page two at the bottom. We talk about your return on the investment. Uh Newport News Public Schools invested $87,000 last school year and received direct and indirect benefits valued at $814,000, a return of $9.30 for every dollar invested. Make sure you know how your money is being uh used. Uh and with that, I'm happy to take any questions. There any questions? Well, Miss Abby, so I I looked at the whole document. I love the different programs. Um I was looking at the library corners. Do we have that here in in Newport News? I was just curious because I'd like to visit one of the If there is one, it will be in the report that there is. If it doesn't say,
082then means there's not. There's not. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna start making phone calls. So, yeah, it does not look like based on the report doesn't look like there is, but we'd be happy to. Yeah. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you very much. Take care. We will now move to 5.03 construction reports. Board members, you have received a copy of this report. Are there any questions? All right. Hearing none, we'll move on to item 5.04, comments by the superintendent, Dr. Mitchell. Thank you. Good evening again. And I want to start out with talking about our graduation. I know Dr. Rogers mentioned it. So, we want to congratulate our summer graduates. And as Dr. Rogers noted 43 students participated, but there were a total of 51 students that completed their requirements to receive their high school diploma.
083The graduation was held on August the 5th at Heritage High School. These students have been working hard all summer. Some worked full-time jobs and still came to school in order to complete their requirements. So, we are super proud of these students and we wish them every success in their very bright future. All summer, we have been preparing for the opening of school on Monday, August 25th. At our new teacher celebration on August the 4th, which was held at Heritage High School, we welcomed almost 300 enthusiastic new teachers. Some are novice teachers. It will be their first year, while others are veteran teachers coming to us from other districts. We are excited that they chose Newport News Public Schools. our teacher of the year, Miss Michelle Young from Jenkins Elementary School was the keynote speaker to
084our new um employees. She gave them tips and she gave tips for students, teachers, and families for a successful school year to help our new teachers know how to help parents and help students. You can see her tips listed on our website if you'd like to. All teachers reported to their schools on August 14th and they are preparing their lesson plans and their classrooms for the arrival of students when school opens on August 25th. Also upcoming on the calendar, just a reminder, schools will be closed for students on Friday, August the 29th. That is a Virginia code that we follow. and all schools and offices will be closed on Monday, September 1st for uh Labor Day holiday. I wish everyone a joyful and successful year of learning and I hope you know that each of
085us know that you are a valued member of our school community every day and let's make it a great year. This concludes my remarks. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Mitchell. We'll now move on to item six, another opportunity to hear from the public. Miss Buffalo, are there any cards? All right. Well, we'll move on to matters by the school board and we will begin with our student representative, Miss Le. Hi. Thank you. I just wanted to echo what I said earlier. I'm extremely excited to serve on the board and make change happen. I can't wait to expand upon the culture of success and leadership that is already established in Newport News and make it go further. I truly hope to represent every student in Newport News equally and honorably. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr.
086Hunter. Oh, thank you, M. Congratulations and welcome to the board to uh Mr. Right. And um when you first spoke early this evening, um I couldn't see you. I thought we had a news person. You have a very strong voice. Um, great things are happening, still are happening, new news, but I'm excited to be uh sitting next to you. Uh, I know we're going to learn a lot from you and again, welcome to the board. Glad to have you. Thank the parents for coming out and um we're ready off to a good start. Mrs. A. Thank you, Dr. Best. And yes, I got I look forward to working with you this year on the school board. Um, and just encourage everybody to keep ready for school. It starts on Monday. I think middle school orientations
087are tomorrow be going and I'm sure high school and elementary will be there after. So look in your emails if you haven't got a new student in a new school. Thank you, Miss Harris. Yes. Um just wanted to uh say thank you all for coming out and um offering your comments. Um I do take notes. We all do take notes and and have discussion. So, um, just really appreciate all the the the different feedback that we're getting from from the community. Um, also too wanted to shout out all of the back to school events um that have been occurring across um the division, across the city. I saw so many colleagues out and about um this past weekend. Um just specifically Mike Vicks um back to school drive um Ivy Baptist, First Baptist Demi and
088Made in Newport News were some of the events that I attended and ran into different people and community members and students and educators. It was just really good to see that energy um and folks just really coming out and getting ready for the school year. So, we're off to a good start. Thank you, Mr. Law. So, I'll echo I I think we should have just driven in the same car. We ended up at a lot of the same events. Um it was just so exciting to see the families out and the students out, but most importantly, seeing the community love on our on our um students, getting them backpacks and school supplies and clothing and food. It really just warmed my heart that it takes a huge village um to raise our kids. Um I
089had the honor of going to the SIA uh culminating event at Woodside High School. Woodside has a near and dear. My daughter graduated from there. Oh goodness, now almost six years. Um and I just enjoy being in the building and seeing the creativity of the students. Um, and they enjoy for us to come out and to see what they're doing and to see the things that they're they're learning. Um, uh, Innovate was really great this year. I had to put my other hat on and got to present uh, teacher professional development. Teachers were on fire. They were just sucking it up, just wanting to get all of the information and the opportunities to take to their students. So, I really enjoyed that. And then just uh today, several of us on the board attended Christopher
090Newport University's um state of the university address and uh Newport News Public Schools was front and center and that was a joy. Um we need to make sure that we are letting our students know that this hometown university really is welcoming all of our students there. Um and it's a great opportunity for them to stay in the area. So that's my time. Thank you, Miss Alger. Yes. Um, just want to say, uh, back to school season is always a big deal for me. Uh, for me, it's always been a signal of, you know, summer's over. Um, um, buying new clothes. You know, you see the kids all shopping all over Target. Parents are are spending money and, uh, new supplies. and and the great part is uh meeting new friends and seeing their old friends.
091And so um today I saw my neighbors and the kids were so excited. They were like we can't wait to meet you know our new our teachers, our new teachers. And I also want to welcome back uh our or welcome back the our teachers and then welcome our new teachers uh and new staff as well and and thanking them for you know for choosing to to be with us. So um and really for the community it's just great energy uh to start the new school year. Thank you. So, this is my first time doing closing remarks in this official capacity, and I'm just going to show you all. I had a list of everything I wanted to say, but I'm not going to do that because I think literally every person sitting at this desk
092has touched on what was on my list. So, I'm just going to do a couple of things. I want to thank uh first of all, it's the most wonderful time of the year. That's what I always say. It is the most wonderful time of the year. But I want to thank Mayor Philip Jones for participating in our schoolboard retreat and his for his support of all things Newport News Public Schools. I would like to thank my South District City Council colleagues, Mrs. Aldra and I. We would like to thank uh Council the Honorable Counciloman Tina Vic and John Elely for meeting with us, for always taking our cause, and for keeping us in the loop with what is going on um with city council business. Skip that one. I'm going to skip that one. I'm
093just going to say there are more back to school drives. Just check your social media. Um they're throughout the community and I too want to thank all of those um churches, social civic organizations that are giving to Newport News public school students. I'm going right on down. I said, um, thank you to our parents for preparing your students for the upcoming school year because you know you are their first teachers and as you send them off to school next week, I encourage you to remind them of those foundational things that you have instilled in them at home such as good manners and kindness. When they come prepared in this manner, it sets the tone for a wonderful and productive year. And finally, um, please know that the school board will be continuing to look at
094not only our transportation needs to include zoning as well. For the past several years, there has been a national um, bus driver shortage, not only for schools, but for public transportation as well. Because of the shape, the distance, the traffic patterns, our magnet and special programs, our transportation challenges in Newport News are not like no other. But as we continue to look for the best ways to address the needs of our students, there will be times where we will ask for your input or need you to serve on a committee. So we look forward to seeing everyone on the first day of school. And this meeting is adjourned. Thank you.