School Board Meeting: November 19, 2024

001Good evening I would like to call to order the regular meeting of the newport news school board for Tuesday November 19th 2024 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 have one member of the school board who wishes to participate in our meeting electronically as indicated in board policy be electronic participation in meetings from remote location the board member must make such request cite the reason for remote attendance and the board must approve the request by majority votes of members present School Board member Lisa surles law has made such request Miss surles law good evening board members I would like to

002petition that I join this meeting virtually I am in Arlington Virginia on work travel thank you hearing Miss surles law request what is the pleasure of the board do I have a motion yes madame Vice chair I move to let Mrs surles law participate in the regular meeting second the motion has been made in second Miss Buffalo please call the roll alger for aman for best for Brown for Harris for Hunter for motion carries 60 welcome Mr oall We Will We Will begin tonight's meeting with the invocation and pledge to the flag here to do the honors are two students from Greenwood Elementary School Asia Wright and Samuel Johnson first Asia will come forward and deliver the invocation she will be followed by Samuel who will come forward and deliver the pledge Asia will you

003please come forward and tell us a little bit about yourself before you get started good evening school board members and Dr mitchell glad glad you guys are here my name is Asia wri I am in Miss Gil's fifth grade class at Greenwood Elementary my favorite subject is math and science because I like exploring new things and figuring things out like a wait I'm sorry uh like what I like to do like my favorite thing hey I'm so sorry it's okay it's okay take time take your time take your time and what I like about school is that I can like hang out with my friends and that's where I make new friends at and and also when I'm not in school my favorite things to do is to play outside with my friends I play

004basketball and football with my friends thank you you thank [Applause] you thank you Asia Samuel will you please come forward and tell us a little bit about yourself before you begin the pledge hi my name is Samuel Johnson I go to the same school as Asia Greenwood Elementary I'm also in Miss Giles class my favorite subject is math I feel like I'm a mathematician sometimes sometimes it's easy sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's puzzling but you can always get through everything that's what I'm talking about right right I like school because I real life get to hang out with my friends and when I'm at home I get to call them play outside and play games with them very good thank you ready for stand oh and can I get everybody to stand for the

005pledge of allegiance to the the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible live liberty and justice for all seated all right thank you Asia and Samuel a supporting Asia and Samuel tonight are their family members and school family please stand and be recognized all right the board appreciates the encouragement you have given these students and we thank you for bringing them to tonight's meeting the next item on the school board agenda is recognitions Dr Mitchell please join me at the podium good evening have the honor of presenting this month's School board recognitions in 2020 the Virginia Board of Education launched the Exemplar performance School awards to recognize High student achievement and continuous Improvement the awards program recognizes schools for exceeding State accreditation standards showing continuous

006Improvement on school quality indicators and implementing innov ative practices tonight we are pleased to recognize five Newport News public schools that earned recognition through the 24-25 Exemplar School recognition Awards program we'll begin with Deer Park Elementary School Deer Park earned the Board of Education highest Achievement Award for earning accreditation and demonstrating high levels of success across all School quality indicators includ me including narrowing achievement gaps and achieving High Pass rates in reading math and science based on the student pass rate for all students in the school and for each student subgroup in the school all while maintaining a low chronic absenteeism rate based on the 2324 school year present this evening to accept this recognition on behalf of the Deer Park School Community are several members of their leadership team please please join me in

007recognizing principal Scott Meadows Mr Meadows please come forward assistant principal Dr Cheryl [Applause] Andrews and a former principal who served last year diligently and started this work former principal Mary Joe Anastasia [Applause] we'd also like to acknowledge lead kindergarten teacher Amanda van djk lead first grade teacher Kimberly [Applause] wingit lead second grade teacher Britney cam [Applause] lead third grade teacher Wendy [Applause] Liston co-lead fourth grade teacher Carol [Applause] atou co-lead fourth grade teacher Freda [Applause] clear fifth grade teacher Lori Morgan [Applause] and the lead resource teacher Jean [Applause] hush Deer Park students exceeded the 75% reading benchmark and the 70% math and science benchmark boasting a 91.8% pass rate in reading a 97.1% pass rate in math and a 95.2 pass rate in science for the 23-24 school year in addition all of their student

008subgroups exceeded the state benchmarks in reading math and science so we'd like to congratulate the Deer Park Elementary School team for earning a highest Achievement Award they're among only 92 schools in the state to earn this honor this year please join me in one more round and congratulations Virginia Department of Education yeah they need they four schools earned the continuous Improvement Awards through the Exemplar School recognition program this year Hidenwood Elementary School Katherine Johnson Elementary School Huntington middle school and Woodside High School schools earning this recognition have demonstrated increase increases in Combined Pass rates for reading math and science for the past three years or for the or the combined Pass rates for two or more student subgroups for the past three years please join us in recognizing our first school honory team Henwood Elementary

009School please join us in congratulating principal Megan [Applause] Alman assistant principal Naima Gibbs [Applause] Administrative Assistant Colleen [Applause] budlove and the team of lead teachers lead kindergarten teacher Patricia [Applause] McNichol lead first grade teacher Teresa Dodson [Applause] second grade Lead Teacher Ashley uh let me make sure I get this right L lar Gina right thank you Miss Lina third grade Lead Teacher Caroline [Applause] Henderson fourth grade Lead Teacher Amber kamua [Applause] sorry fifth grade Lead Teacher Lindsay Kent conratulations our lead special education teacher Shirley Miller lead resource teacher John luck and reading specialist Kaylee Corell and reading specialist Rebecca Loftus [Applause] congratulations hidenwood Elementary School is noted for continuous Improvement in reading and math achievement among several subgroups and some increase their Pass rates by more than 10 percentage points so congratulations to Hidenwood Elementary

010School for earning a continuous Improvement award [Applause] conat for [Applause] our next honory group earned recognition for continuous Improvement in overall academic achievement and student subgroup performance the team at Katherine Johnson Elementary School please join us in congratulating principal Dr Angela [Applause] Mass assistant principal Dr Heather Hill and Lead teachers lead kindergarten teacher Kim [Applause] Wright lead first grade teacher Barb Peterson lead second grade teacher Angela [Applause] Dart lead third grade teacher Christine Chi OA lead fourth grade teacher Ariana [Applause] Beth lead fifth grade teacher Susan [Applause] Lula reading specialist Christine cyclan and some other members of the team of Virginia tiered support systems excuse me Virginia tiered systems of supports lead Taylor Wade professional school counselor Britney shufford and you'd like to acknowledge math interventionist Lori dilding [Applause] students at Katherine Johnson Elementary School

011made notable increases in Reading Pass rates and in math Pass rates so again congratulations to the team at Katherine Johnson Elementary School for earning a continuous Improvement award againat congratulations our next honorees are from Huntington Middle School let's congratulate them for earning a continuous Improvement um excuse me a continuous Improvement Exemplar award in overall academic achievement and in student group performance since the 21-22 school year please join us in congratulating and welcoming principal Dr Regina [Applause] Stafford and assistant principal Deborah figs I also like to acknowledge um the lead teachers as well uh the lead English teacher Le Mason a lead math teacher Demetrius Washington the lead science teacher Salvatore dentu the lead social studies teacher Lynwood Jenkins the lead special education teacher Jackie Williams and we also want to take a moment to acknowledge

012the former principal who couldn't join us this evening ebony Griffin who served for two years at Huntington and began leading this important improvement work so again congratulations to the team and again there were two while they make their way for the picture um they both in reading and math performance they increase their overall student performance and performance in several student subgroups so again congratulations to the Huntington Middle School team for earning this continuous Improvement award [Applause] last but not least Woodside High School also earned a continuous Improvement award for student subgroup performance please join us in recognizing principal Dr Mary [Applause] Hardesty assistant principal of instruction Grace [Applause] Foley assistant principal of operations Michael [Applause] Bellamy our lead teachers lead English teacher Kimberly [Applause] Haywood lead math teacher Jennifer Saunders [Applause] lead science teacher Margaret

013Wiggins the current lead social studies teacher Tom [Applause] salers and the former lead social studies teacher John Downer now currently an assistant principal at Warwick High School and we have two other administrators would you please stand and be acknowledged as well the Woodside team please the administrative team please stand thank you oh I'm sorry thank you please Woodside High School students made notable increases in reading and math Pass rates in all student subgroups so again congratulations to the entire Woodside team for earning this continuous Improvement award [Applause] fix back [Applause] yeah what I did want to not why they're making their way back to the seat for the 2425 school year there were only 49 schools in the state recognized for continuous Improvement so we're very proud to have four here in Newport News Public

014Schools let's give another round of applause to our Virginia Exemplar School award honor we want to acknowledge um if you have any uh for the school teams here tonight we know that this takes a lot of time and dedication and certainly it's a collaborative effort among our Educators our students and their families so if you have your family with you would you please stand and be recognized um any friends any other school supporters please stand and be recognized we like to acknowledge all of you he started us out for and it's it's a whole nnps proud moment yes thank you please share our congratulations with your entire School Community the purple star designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate military friendly practices and a commitment to military students and their families Virginia as we know

015is home to a large population of active duty Guard Reserve and Veteran armed services members and our Public Schools educate thousands of military connected students this evening we're proud to acknowledge that General Stanford Elementary School earned designation as a 2425 purple star school second award General Stanford was previously named a 2122 purple star school joining us this evening to accept this recognition on behalf of the General Stanford Community our principal Jennifer Harish is [Applause] Harish assistant principal Raymond duton [Applause] military family life counselor Allison [Applause] Sigler military family life counselor Julie let me get this right M Kenna Kenna thank you I have to take my time make sure we get it right professional school counselor Audrey DS and rounding out the team joint based Langley eustis School based liaison Christine [Applause] steel and PTA

016president Sarah Campbell [Applause] Campbell we also want to acknowledge uh Colonel Laura Hutchinson the commander and command sergeant major Jared Matthews for their continuous support as [Applause] well to be designated a purple star school school staff must complete training in meeting the needs of military students and name a specific designate to serve as a point of contact for the military families they must also maintain active Partnerships with their military families General Stanford has a very active PTA and the school has numerous strong supports in place for the military community that it is so closely associated with General Stanford also has an anchored for Life club which supports new students as they transition to the school and promotes leadership and resiliency among club members the club provides opportunities for students to enhance social skills learn leadership

017skills build character improve self-esteem and integrate into their Community earlier this year the school participated in a professional development session understanding military children hosted by General Stanford's military family life counselors topics covered included fostering resilience and Military connected students community building in the classroom and helping military children Thrive during deployment purple star schools must offer must also offer online information specifically designated for military families and they must offer new students peer support to ease their transition now for our schools to be awarded a purple star the school system must also demonstrate its support for military families so back in September 2021 the Newport News school board passed a resolution committing to support the approximately 6,500 military connected students in the school system through ongoing professional development for teachers and to prepare our staff to best

018meet the needs of all of our military students so again we want to say congratulations to this great team at General Stanford Elementary School for their active support of their military families thank you con so please pass our congratulations on to your entire [Music] community and again this concludes uh our recognitions for this evening at this time we're going to take about a 9 minute break so that our honorees and their guests may leave if they choose to do so you're welcome to stay for the rest of the board meeting during this time our viewing audience will will have opportunity to view this month's Schoolboard Spotlight so we'll stand in recess for about 9 minutes thank [Music] you during veterans day students throughout Newport News Public Schools took time to thank Veterans for their service

019to our country giving students a better understanding of the important role of military men and women in protecting our freedoms Katherine Johnson Elementary honored veterans with the parade around the school the Crimson thunder drum line led the spirited procession with students lining the hallways and holding custom signs of thanks afterwards veterans and and their students enjoyed a breakfast proudly sponsored by BayPort Credit Union anchored for Life students who support their classmates when their parents are on Military deployment helped serve the meal thanking our veterans for their service General Stanford Elementary which is located on Fort Eustace honored veterans through music and arts forth and fifth grade students performed a series of songs during their tribute to Veterans under the talented Direction of music teacher Morgan Cassidy the harmonious students sang about our country the American

020flag and our brave veterans to decorate the gymnasium art teacher Valencia gross commissioned her Young Artists to create inspired artwork for the occasion in attendance were military leaders and mayor Philip Jones who is a veteran and a child of a military family just like The Talented students performing for all the veterans that evening Greenwood Elementary hosted a salute to our veterans with breakfast and a parade Greenwoods PTA volunteers partnered with neighboring colossian Baptist Church to host a warm and delicious breakfast for students and the important veterans in their lives guests and students were invited to share some insights about their careers and deployments during their military service it was a wonderful opportunity for students to spend extra time with their parents grandparents and family the morning Gathering also gave families a chance to connect with

021school staff and learn about valuable resources for military families after breakfast the entire School lined the hallways waving American flags and cheering as veterans and their families paraded through and some brave Soldiers and Sailors even took time to visit their child's classroom to read a book and answer questions about their service in the military and Woodside High School home of the Arts and Communications magnet program hosted their second annual Veterans Day concert to salute our veterans Woodside invited Ella Fitzgerald Middle School's 8th grade band along with Passage Middle School's Orchestra Panther strings and their concert band to perform a series of patriotic selections woodside's own talented music and choir students offered a a heartfelt tribute to Veterans with their melodic sounds of freedom and bravery through strings brass Woodwinds percussion and their own voices the

022music shared during the Veterans Day concert honored the sacrifice and dedication of the amazing men and women of America's armed forces the third annual marching band Expo held at Todd Stadium celebrated the diversity and impact of music education in Newport News Public Schools 600 student musicians performed showcasing their talents and hard work along with the dedication of our musical Educators across all grades the evening kicked off with middle and high school students forming a mega band to perform the national anthem 8th grade student musicians also performed collectively giving these students an introduction to high school marching band and performing on The Big Field the audience was amazed at the talents of our youngest drum lons with Johnson's Crimson Thunder and Riverside's boomin' bears performing with excellence and passion on the track and our students musical

023abilities were on full display as each High School's marching band performed this season's halftime shows since the summer these marching bands have been fine-tuning their performances in preparation for state level Assessments in the fall throughout the evening families Educators and school and city leaders cheered on our student musicians by sharing airrs over the loudspeakers encouraging our student musicians to continue their musical growth through an award-winning musical curriculum in Newport News Public Schools busy schedules Transportation issues and language barriers can keep many families from attending events at school or having access to important resources so the English as a second language family and Community engagement team hosted a community outreach for English Learners and their families at Oyster Point Place Apartment Homes off J Clyde Morris Boulevard various departments from Newport News Public Schools school board

024members Community Partners and school leaders from Menchville High School offered family resources and student support at a convenient and accessible location near a large population of Hispanic families Newport News Public Library handed out free books while officers with the Newport News police department grilled hot dogs and played games with the kids other organizations offered resources to assist families with a range of Health Services academic supports and resources for transitioning smoothly to living in a new country by overcoming cultural changes and language barriers 75 families attended the event which purposely took place during Hispanic Heritage Month by reaching out to English Learners and their families right where they live a community pulled together to make families and students feel supported cared for and welcomed to Newport News our students mental health plays a huge role in

025their ability to learn in school build positive relationships achieve academically and manage strength to offer resources information and support the nnps family and Community engagement team hosted your mental health matters make it a priority this is the first of four family empowerment forums scheduled this school year sponsored by BayPort Credit Union when families arrive to the evening event at Heritage High School they were treated to a free dinner at the resource Fair students families and educ Educators were welcome to gather information and resources offered by service providers and nnps departments each focused on supporting Youth and families during the mental health empowerment session a panel of Community Partners School leaders faith-based organizations local experts and students fielded questions about the impact of trauma family experiences and strategies for promoting positive mental health our schools play

026an important role in supporting students mental health by connecting them to caring adults providing valuable resources to families and creating a safe and nurturing learning environment by promoting student well-being and encouraging families to thrive through the family empowerment series our family and Community engagement team is offering the tools needed for academic success and positive social growth for all students Riverside Elementary spent a month celebrating kindness and learning about different cultures during National Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from mid-september to mid- October the morning show highlighted different Latin countries students were invited to share some fun facts about their country's cultures foods and colorful clothing each student put together informative presentations creative posters and proudly shared their Hispanic heritage with with the entire school later in the month Riverside held their Ninth Annual Unity Day Parade

027bright orange is the symbolic color of unity day sending a visible message that building community Through kindness acceptance and inclusion helps prevent bullying so Riverside invited their Community to join them with Newport News police officers Newport News fire department and students from neighboring Christopher Newport University joining the festivities including Captain Chris himself Riverside's own boomin' bears drum line led the procession in front of the school as students staff and a supporting Community Ed the power of kindness to make Riverside a wonderful place to learn for all students [Music] I hope 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

028comments 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 board considers this an opportunity to listen to your comments please understand that 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 you have 30 seconds remaining and a red light and beep indicates your time is up as your name is called please come forward we will first have Reverend Natalie Chamberlain and she will be followed by Mr Jim Batterson I believe she will have someone to speak because she does not have a voice tonight she has a voice but she can't project it she

029is silent this is Reverend Natalie Chamberlain uh pronounce she her I am CCE maius retired teacher in Newport News I am part of a broad coach Coalition of citizens who have been attending these meetings for the past year we support equality and the respectful treatment of all children including trans and other lgbtq plus youth tonight we are here to stand in support of revising policy jbp in order that it better protect all students but especially those who are trans we recognize that you seek the well-being of all of the students and the staff of the district and we are with you as you Endeavor to make this so yet we continue to advocate for the vulnerable in the district since this is taking such a long time as we approach the holiday season and the

030uncertainties of a New Year may you find the time and will to finish work on this vitally important policy the times in which we are living make it even more important than ever thank you thank you followed by Mr Batterson will be Miss Jackie Batterson thank you good evening previous months I have provided you with copies of I'm Jim Batterson Newport News in previous months I provided you with copies of the latest statistics from the cdc's national Ro youth risk behavior survey showing a significant percentage of high school students who self-identify as transgender or questioning their sexuality this translates into possibly 400 to 500 students in Newport News and a significant number of students suffer from unstable housing nationally not having a parent available to regularly confide in or uh for guidance and support moreover

031as a military Community we have a significant number of parents on deployment I implore you to create a clear policy on transgender that addresses the needs both of students in the Umbra of transgender such as to find in your transgender student under the governor's the vdoe guidelines and your current procedure jbp and in addition also addresses the the needs of that significant number of students that National statistics tell us we have in Newport News who simply self-identify as transgender or gender questioning thus falling into a surrounding penumbra in the of the Newport News Public Schools transgender student definition that is it recognizes that there are self-identifying transgender children outside of the current j-p limited definition of transgender student who are in need support of support services from the school division a policy that will recognize

032a significant number of Newport News public school students do not have theoretically perfect home lives with the mature support of adult family member ready and available to them and therefore these students would benefit from having School faculty and counselors free to have conversations with them that the student can trust to be confidential and finally what business does the government have in dictating what people call themselves for formal communication such as Student Records the students official name as registered shall be used however in informal communication such as oral classroom discussions or hallway or Mall encounters call kids what they want to be called and use their preferred pronouns if a teacher has a personal religious moral or social reason for always using a formal name fine but allow the majority of teachers in informal situations to

033comfortably interact with students using the students preferred name and pronoun thank you very much thank [Applause] you Miss Jackie Batterson will be followed by Dr James Graves good evening I'm Jackie badon and I reside in Newport News the rainbow youth project which is a volunteer run lGbtq youth Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention group receives over 3500 3,500 calls nationally per month from November 1st to November 7th it received more than 4,000 calls these young people's anxiety and fear have increased affecting their physical and emotional safety in and out of school creating a network of support now through through trusting relationships with Educators ensures that they are cared for and safe in school and feel valued this can happen if young people are concerned that anything they say confidentially could be reported to someone else that

034is the death of communication please send a clear message to the students in families that this Administration is committed to protecting the students rights and and create a safe and inclusive environment ensure students that there are resources available if they experience harassment or bullying or need mental health support teachers spend a lot of time with these students probably in some instances more than the students spend with their families and are influential in the lives and in their lives and well-being please don't put up a wall between the students and their teachers please ensure by policy that your teachers know that they are safe when a student comes to them and that the teacher need not have to report any confidential conversation with a student's parent or Guardian thank you thank you Mr graves will be

035followed by Mr John B Bloom I'm sorry Dr Graves good evening evening happy American Education week good evening uh Madame chair Vice chair school board members good evening also to Dr Mitchell as a product of new new Public Schools born and raised in downtown new news I grew up listening to my mother and Elders talk in my community I listen to their wisdom their intelligence and watch how they had grace and mercy at times y'all know what that means as I grew up and decided to be an officer in the United States Army my mom and Elders told me a few things but this message stuck out the most they said Son take care of your soldiers and they would take care of you as president I try my best to take care of our

036members listen to them and yes ask for new ideas and go along with their concerns the union believes that if you care for your employees they will take care of you unfortunately this is not happening in some of newu public school areas many concerns are important to our members who make up this Educational Foundation at new Public School the foundation should be more robust due to some of the upper administration of the academic team we see a culture of do as I say and not a culture of asking teachers and staff for their input and most things that affect their lives when you send down a mandate to assistant principal such as completing seven walkthroughs a week which is stressful to them they have informed us of other tasks that they have done every day

037and you have about 25 bullets of what they do every single day stress assessments Walking The Halls making sure the weapons detection systems over okay meetings with parents and so on the executive academic administrators now have decided to add seven weekly walkthroughs which is unfair and plain wrong the educational leadership team could have asked assistant principals and principals for their ideas on existing but they didn't because it still happens as of today when will this culture of do as I say stop in our district we are supposed to work together for our children faulty and staff another concern is that our bus drivers are struggling with shortage of bus drivers since school started bus drivers have been stressed in transportation department most bus drivers are afraid to speak up because of the ugly word called

038retaliation they believe this because they have experienced this while working in the transportation department when drivers call and say that supervisors are walking around the the People speaking to HR representatives and they had to ask the HR representative person to come outside you you have my full report thank you thank [Applause] you Mr Bloom will be followed by Mr David bre my name is John Bloom I was a former uh Newport News long-term substitute teacher in math people from math left um but I also am a a veteran in the uh from the United States Navy um what I'm about to tell you is a truth and um the more things change the more them remain the same uh on January 6th 2023 abby Zwerner was shot by a six-year-old student in richneck elementary school

039no Zwerner uh tried several times to have the child removed and her class from her class pleads fell on deaf years the changes that were made were in late January and February of 2023 then Newport News superintendent uh Richneck Elementary School principal and C principal resigned then on July 1st 2023 most of you are not aware of this but every member of the school board is they revised the uh policy and procedures manual in it it states pursuant to code state code 20 section 22.3 d279 uh. 3.1 the superintendent or desney will report all student assaults uh on employees to local law enforcement authorities I do not I did not know this uh document even existed until after the November 5th election which I was running for Schoolboard um however all current members of the

040School board know it on August 3rd 2023 Dr Mitchell was sworn in as uh new uh Newport News superintendent as a result of one child antagonizing others in my class my math CL lab class as well as other classes on October 10th 2024 uh a at a parents Teachers Conference the parents uh told myself and others uh others the parents were were very concerned that their child conduct uh and seemed amazed she was passed into the sixth grade and with what they told us the parents told us their child stab a teacher with a pencil as a result oh by the way I I also subbed at uh the uh Juvenile Detention Center they the cards do hand out the pencils count them to make sure they got them back students like this should should

041have been in juvenile center she was sent over to passage and advanced to sixth grade as a result she was she was removed from that elementary school not sure which one they never told me that could have been it could have been the same could have been Richneck it could have been someone the others too late thank you Mr Brakman and followed by Miss Mary boss hi superintendent Mitchell and members of the board I'm David brakman former Newport News public school student and current Newport News resident please act quickly to make at least some revisions to procedure jpp to promote the safety and dignity of trans students at least in tone stop saying in Section 3 G2 that using the same restroom that a trans person has used in the past um presents such a

042danger that we need alternatives to promote the child's privacy and safety you can continue please continue to offer Alternatives but don't suggest things that are that are unfounded fearmongering to to read reate ear earlier comments um please permit staff to use in casual conversation the name and pronouns that a student sincerely requests official documents are a different matter but there's no need to pull up and enforce my birth certificate when talking to me please allow counselors to keep confidentiality where doing so wouldn't endanger others um just additionally please revise procedure jbp to provide the level of specific guidance appropriate to a procedure um section 3d6 says that we can't make staff violate their first amendment rights which is of course true but what do you mean by that what are the specific rights enumerated by

043um the First Amendment as it pertains to addressing trans students do teachers have a First Amendment right to misgender students overriding the request of the student the parents and or the legal record if so please summarize those conditions and cite where it comes from and if not please stop implying it um please elaborate on other instances of accept where are required by law similarly um I hope that the superintendent's office will put forth revision soon but if if not I encourage the board to use the authority vested in it as our elected representatives for the administration of newport news schools to vote on the matter um the distinction between policy and procedure is not all that it's always been necessarily made out to be tonight's agenda for policies includes procedures that are being voted on

044um please keep this in mind thank you thank [Applause] you hello uh Mary Voss NNPS teacher parent and graduate and Secretary of the Newport News Education Association uh the n&a is continuing our campaign to win contract negotiations for nnps teachers and staff contract negotiations also known as collective bargaining rights give staff and teachers a seat at the table to negotiate for better pay benefits and most importantly better working conditions such as smaller class sizes more planning time more restroom breaks senority and job security and reduced unnecessary testing NNPS employees please visit Newport News education association.com and scroll down to authorization cards to sign both members and non-members can sign uh changing gears I'm hearing that there have been discussions between n&a leadership and nnps Leadership about possibly reinstating a sick leave Bank in the future

045and I want to thank you for your consideration of that uh since it would would allow teachers and staff who have pre-existing conditions and or who are dealing with unexpected Health emergencies to be eligible for much needed additional paid sick leave days um we have a lot of great teachers and staff who want to be at work as much as possible despite health challenges that they can't control and additional SI days would help alleviate the stress of having to take unpaid leave after running out of their sick days uh in addition I hope that nnps leadership might also consider creating a true bereavement leave policy in the district uh currently the only thing similar to bereavement leave in the 2024 nnps benefits guide uh was that employees can use up to three sick days in

046the event of the death of an immediate family member and also a sentence stating that one day will be allowed each year for attending funerals of persons not included in the definition of immediate family um ideally employ employees uh wouldn't have to choose between sick days and time off to grieve the death of an immediate family member and in addition sadly many nnps employees may experience the death of multiple close but not immediate family members within one school year uh the following Virginia school districts have Bonafide bereavement leave that doesn't require employees to use their sick leave Virginia Beach Schools Stafford County Schools fluvana County schools and King George County Schools this is not an exhaustive list uh just what popped up in a quick Google search and finally in closing in the current political

047climate it is more important than ever that nnps leaders aim to respect and protect vulnerable students as much as possible this includes lgbtq plus students amidst an incoming presidential Administration that sadly treats gay gender non-conforming and especially trans kids as punching bags for cheap political points this also includes the children of immigrant and migrant families especially given the sizable and growing English as a second language population in Newport News uh please stand up for vulnerable children and teens by striving for the most respectful and non-discriminatory policies possible such as the changes to policies for lgbtq plus students recommended by several other speakers tonight thank you for your time and consideration thank [Applause] you thank you for your comments and thoughts this evening we will now move on to section three I'm sorry are there any

048more cards? Ms Buffalo we will now move on to section three the consent agenda which includes 3 3.01 minutes from the work session October 15 2024 3.2 minutes from the regular meeting October 15 2024 3.3 Financial reports including the revenue and expense reports for October 2024 Child Nutrition reports 3.4 the Personnel report 3.5 temporary construction easement 3.6 cell Tower lease agreement 3.7 appointment of Deputy clerk at this time can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda yes Madam Vice chair I move to appoint to approve the consent agenda second it's been moved in second that we approve the consent agenda Miss Buffalo may call the roll alger for aman for best for Brown for Harris for Hunter for surles law for motion passes 7 Z thank you okay we will move to section

049four action items 4.1 new and re policies Dr Mitchell good a good evening tonight we will have a Mr Pat finneran come before you to um share with you the proposed fy2 legisla we're doing action 4.11 policies I'm sorry action items you have two to vote on uhuh we have two we have um new and revised policies let me okay so we'll now move on to action items new and revised policies yes and you have Dr best you have them separated um as they're going to uh be voted on in your packet okay hold on hold on she see it sectioned policy did I miss something here you go that's 4.01 newer revised policies resing new and revised policies the 4.1 policies resulting from the recent State legislation should I read these this yes we're

050going to do them in groups Miss we're going to try to take them one at a time and then if there's discussion we can hit on each one as it comes board okay so I'll begin with AC non-discrimination Madam Vice chair I move to approve approve make a motion to approve policy AC second and then I guess we open for discussion discussion or questions it's been moving secondly that we approve policy AC non-discrimination so we want to do someone second no we're going to take them one by one Mr Brown second Brown yes we're going to do each one one by one instead of a big group you can call the roll sometimes people AR alger you can request discussion if there is any I ask there any discussion or questions ready yes alger for

051aman for best for Brown for Harris for Hunter for Surles law for motion passes 7-0 okay and now we'll move on to section be electronic participation in meetings from remote locations Madam Vice chair I move to um make a motion to approve policy be electronic participation in meetings from remote locations okay second second any questions discussion um I have one one thing I'm not sure about and unfortunately I missed the meeting where this was discussed um is I think this is the one that talks about someone who is attending remotely count toward deorum and this may be a legal question is that is that new is that standard that was newly added by Statute recently it did not it did not exist before uh this last General Assembly session okay but it was approved by

052the general assembly Freedom of Information next okay thank you any other questions discussion U Mr for for discussion on be I'll make the comment that the version of be as it exists today was augmented during the pandemic uh and originally we thought that this was going the provisions that are in it were going to sunset at some at some point and if you know we're years years after the pandemic uh these Provisions haven't sunsetted so uh for that reason I'm uh I think there is there is value in the uh physical Gathering of the board uh unless there is unless there is an actual state of emergency and uh so this is nothing against uh anyone's anyone in particular is remote participation but I just think that there's there's a value in the uh the

053public being able to see us physically uh gather and that that's an that's an important part of what we do and so um uh I'm not in favor of this continuing a what was supposed to be really a temporary policy thank you Mr Brown Any Other M yeah I think a lot of it is a lot of is also based off of uh the state had specific guidelines for missing meetings I.E if I'm deployed militarily then that's considered a reason or in case of uh emergency so I mean I I approve of it but I can understand what Mr brown is coming from okay thank you Mr H anyone else um um Madam chair I um I understand why it was put in place during a pandemic and um I just believe that those folks

054are on the board who are elect it I don't think that we're missing meetings just to be missing meetings and then we also put it to the the dases to us for voted on it so if we feel that we have there's a member of this board that's missing meetings just to be missing meetings Then There Our duties to not approve you know to approve that absentee in person so we ourselves we if we can't monitor our own Sal you know I I think this another issue going on so I I know post travel we meet I don't think there's typically times where people have missed a couple meetings I did not call in because I was sick and so if I was sick I'm not calling in to a meeting because I was duly

055sick but when someone truly wants to be a there meeting and they may have things come up life happens with their jobs we as seven board members have the right the six of us have the right or five of us have the right to says no we don't accept them absentee to vote on so I again uh unless there's an abuse then we need to handle that abuse uh but I don't think I think there still a good uh practice to have thank you Mr Hunter anyone else comments or questions call the roll Miss Buffalo alger for aman for best for brown against Harris for Hunter for surles law for motion passes 6-1 all right policy IA instructional goals and learning objectives Madame Vice chair I make a motion to approve policy IIA instructional goals

056and learning objectives second it's been moved in second that we approve policy IE instructional goals and learning objectives any questions or comments there be none Miss Buffalo call the role please alger for aman for best for brown for Harris Hunter Surles law for motion passes 7-0 right moving on to IAB literacy plan madam Vice chair I make a motion to approve policy IAB literacy plan second second it's been moving second that we approved item IH excuse me IAB literacy plan any questions discussion uh Madam Vice chair I'll make the comment that I just uh I think this is a great uh policy and given the importance of the policy being core to our success for uh student outcomes and helping students to achieve I think just that it um needed probably another 30 days of

057of um of work and we you know could have I think we could have gotten something that um was really Monumental and and given again given its importance um there's just uh two Provisions in there that I think are really U necessary and I don't see there currently which is a line item budget line item for the money that we spend on literacy including that in our budget so that we can actually track uh how much we're valuing literacy as a as a division uh and then of course um progress measuring of progress of reports in some form or fashion so uh absent those things given the importance of how critical reading is um I just you know think that the policy was almost there but just not quite for for my in my opinion

058okay thank you Mr Brown anyone else um Madam Vice chair just a question this might be for um Dr Mitchell but is are those things that we as a board can that the division can break out for literacy and our budgets if we wanted to see with or without a policy and then also measuring progress throughout the year um that is also something I think it's important to get the policy updated as much as possible um but barring another reiteration it sounds like those are things that we also as a board can ask for they are and yes you know make sure we do absolutely yeah and um I just want to add to that I appreciate the changes made um based on recommendations uh including uh using um reference to the vaa uh which

059uh I believe does require that uh that we do provide um clear communication and you included that as well as far as the literacy plan um I do agree that um we should report out um to the community as well as long as we're we're doing it or to you know I think that's important as far as uh growth and Improvement yes both of those things are things that we uh we as a executive team do look at the line items so we certainly could share with the board U without it being in the policy the uh expenditures as well as we also look at the quarterly data the unit data Benchmark data to look at where we are with literacy and that is a report that we could easily provide to the board thank

060you yes this is Lisa surles law um I would um concur that I think that this policy is quite timely um and we should be able to capture both the budget line items and the reporting out in the procedure portion of this policy thank you any other comments or questions Miss Buffalo call the roll please alger for Aman for best for brown against Harris for Hunter for surles law for motion passes 6-1 all right policy i m a teaching about drugs alcohol and tobacco madam Vice chair I move to approve policy IH ma teaching about drugs alcohol and tobacco second second it's been moving second that we approve IH ma teaching about drugs alcohol and tobacco any questions any discussion having none Miss Buffalo call the roll please alger for aman for best for Brown

061for Harris hun Madame Vice chair I moved to approve policy kbe internet privacy second what' you say ms surles law she was second Mr Brown already been moved in second to approve kbe internet privacy any questions any discussion hearing none Miss Buffalo call the vote please alger for Aman for best for Brown for Harris for Hunter for Surles law for motion passes 7-0 all right moving on to policies related to student Admissions and attendance jec admissions of non-public students for part-time enrollment mam Vice chair I move that we move to approve policy JC admission of non-public students for part-time enrollment do we have a second second it's been moved in second that we approve jec admission of nonpublic students for part-time enrollment any questions any discussion Madame Vice chair uh I just offer up for

062a discussion I don't see the need to have a policy that says what we won't do which is what this policy says this policy says that we won't accept students for part-time instruction so we have a policy about part-time instruction which says that we don't offer part-time instruction and I just don't I don't think that as the government that that's something that we really necessarily need to do to tell people what we want do um so for that for that reason uh the policy seems extraneous I could understand if we were striking the policy from the manual entirely because uh we feel the policy is no longer needed because there was a clause in here about the junior U jltc um and we probably move that I believe to the compulsory attendance portion but G

063so given it's no longer necessary to have uh this policy given that the JC has been that portion has been moved to compulsory attendance I don't see why we'd have a policy that says we won't do something thank you Mr Brown anyone else I just I have a question for clarification I'm not sure if anyone can speak to it um was the Genesis of this that the jrc participation this was sort of in the wrong place for it in the policy manual um and then you know part-time enrollment we do have students that end up in like early college and different things so how does that play in I think the answer is that the re reason for relooking at some of these policies was questions raised by the homeschooling folks and we modified several

064policies to better conform to the law this particular policy I think is generated because lots of school divisions get questions about whether uh home schoolers can do part-time enrollment or other students can do part-time enrollment there are a I believe a few School divisions in Virginia which allow part-time enrollment but most do not so the reason for the policy is that it's it's a clear expression that we do not in Newport News allow part-time enrollment and would someone doing Early College would that be part-time enrollment no because they are enroll they're in our schools the other part of the town like they started with us or if they're just and they only need so many classes they can leave early is that part time or no no that's not so is there another way to

065communicate that statement versus saying what we won't do and I I sort of sympathize with Mr Brown um so is there another way to say that or well put it on the front page you know we're not it was adopted in 20120 so I mean that seems like it may have been caused by Covid or something well and I so the opposite full-time enrollment is there such a thing is one or right I mean you're enrolled we like Miss Brooks to come forward you're either enrolled or not enrolled thank you for the opportunity M chairman Madam ice chair Madam chairman members of the board uh we did have that policy because as Dr Mitchell stated and Mr Wallen we do have parents who have requested to enroll their students students part-time they're either homeschool we

066have some private school students who want to enroll part-time to for example apply to the Governor's School or to participate in other activities so that was to capture those requests and we do get those um it's not continuous but we do and the question is where is it in writing okay so that was our attempt to to respond to that especially since this's law especially since um other school divisions have a policy of yes and they're transferring to our division the question would be what's your policy and for us to say we don't have one that probably wouldn't bode well in that circumstance though I do also agree with um Mr Brown and that it's kind of odd to have a policy to say what we won't do but in this case it seems somewhat

067appropriate because we would be asked what is your policy about part-time enrollment so we could work to elaborate more on the policy but really we would like to be able to point to the documentation and I was going to say we can if there's no other questions or concerns we can go ahead and vote and if it's voted up it'll move as is and if not we can go back and look at it again yes ma'am so any other question questions or comments all right Miss Buffalo call the roll please alger against Aman against best for brown against Harris against Hunter for surles law for motion fails four to three thank you moving on to jhd exemption for compulsary School attendance m Vice chair I move to approve policy jhd exemption from for compulsory School

068attendance second here a second second been moving a second that we the motion has been moved in second for policy jhd exemption for compulsary School attendance any questions any comments I I do have one point of clarification and I think it's important to share with the community so we're striking a lot of like a lot of the changes we're striking any student whose parent has filed a notice of intent to home instruction and I believe the reason that is struck is because they are meeting the School attendance requirement albeit an a school fashion so it doesn't make sense for to have it as an excuse because they're meeting it just not with us, is that correct that's correct yes it's really a language thing but it it is true that in the statute uh homeschooling

069is not listed as an exemption it's listed as a way of meeting the requirements uh compulsory education requirements thank you any other questions remarks one just the question about the Juvenile Domestic Relations District Court uh do is that how does how is that counted and meaning uh is that is that request immediately accepted or is there some some delay to that request for for admission and Counting towards towards and Counting towards attendance so in know so in other words the student was not attending but then is going to attend and when does that clock essentially when does that clock start how do we um account for or track the students attendance when you say student was not attending because for for whatever reason they weren't attending until they got an order from the court have

070had jurisdiction I me should be jurisdiction regardless I mean there's no laps in jurisdiction whether the School Division or whether the court so I think it's it's the the court do you understand what he's asking m I think I think the issue is if the court says compulsory educ attendance is not appropriate for this particular student then that is an excuse they're excused from attendance it's not the court says it's now time okay now I'm good does that makes sense um and then they can certainly change but I guess one question is is that going to count against our us for our attendance right and that say they shouldn't or can't are we okay right from our numbers do we know I don't know I don't know we can right yeah thank you okay thank

071you any other questions discussion Miss Buffalo call the roll please alger for aman for best for brown for Harris for Hunter for surles law for motion passes 7-0 moving to policy that supports new nnps best practices is there a number for this yeah I don't have a number lined up Madam Vice chair I move to approve item 4.02 the local plan for gifted education no there's a policy we have one more oh there's another policy employee social media policy what's the do we need to approve it I don't see it's under KB see there's no apologies that's in the Human Resources chapter is gbbf employee use correct thank you okay Madam Vice chair I move to approve item gbbf employee social media use we get a second second all right it's been moved in second

072that we approve item GB d e EB GB GB e d ebf b no b e GB e b GB EB employee social media use almost f f GB ebf yes hold up G B employre social b b b f employee social media use are there any questions any discussion should we have put it in a different chapter change the designation system she use we use a military pronunciation A lot no questions no no all right um Ms Buffalo call the vote please alger for aman for best for brown for Harris for Hunter for Surles law for motion passes 7-0 thank you well so and thank you all for bearing with me through that so we will now move on to uh 4.2 local plan for gifted education Dr Mitchell we voting you're voting Madam

073Vice chair chair yeah madam Vice chair sorry I thought it was under report go ahead Madam Vice chair I move to approve item 4.02 local plan for gifted education second we move to second to approve item 4.02 local plan for gifted education any questions any discussion madam chair uh I just want to say that I'm really excited about this uh plan and um it looks like a you know great plan and can't wait for it to be implemented so I'm very excited to see this plan in action and see the benefit it's going to give for our students anyone else all right Miss Buffalo call the vote please alger for aman for best for brown for Harris for Hunter for Surles law for motion passes 7-0 thank you we will now move to section five

074reports and information 5.01 proposed fy2 legislative program Dr Mitchell thank you so very much at this time Mr Pat finneran will come before you to share the proposed fy2 legislative program keeping in mind this is a a draft it is it is proposed and it will come back to you next month for a vote that's correct thank you very much Dr Mitchell and uh good evening uh chairman surles law virtually uh acting chairman uh Dr best school board members uh and of course Dr Mitchell and all those uh in the audience uh it is that time of year again when we uh look at the upcoming General Assembly section and legislative issues of importance to the uh School Board uh the legislative program that you have is a draft as Dr Mitchell said uh and

075it's the board's opportunity to convey what you consider to be some of the key issues for the 2025 uh General Assembly session and of course the the draft has been posted on board docs for the community to see and read as well um and again just to emphasize this is a draft form we do have time uh for revisions after you've seen it and heard some of it tonight um of course during the session um legislators will introduce hundreds and hundreds of Education bills and the board I'll do my best to keep uh the board up to speed and and our staff up to speed um as this legislation is introduced uh before we get into this uh the legislator positions however uh I'd like to just review a a little bit of the timeline

076uh that we we're going to look at this year for the general assembly session first of all it's a short session um last year was the long or budget session and they they um rotate every two years so short session begins early January 8th that's the first second Wednesday of the month uh and ends if all goes well February 22nd uh other dates of Interest take your legislator to school day uh will be on December 11th this year and we're very pleased uh to uh take our legislators and other local elected officials and dignitaries to show them the governor's Health Sciences Academy at uh Warwick high school and there'll also be a special partnership announcement uh made at that event and so we're looking forward to that and to showing off the great work uh

077that's going on at Warwick high school and the governor's Health Sciences Academy um December 17th the school board then will have an an option of of taking action and voting um on this um prop legislative program so if you know obviously if we have some changes to make uh after tonight we'll get those to you early enough for you to look them over uh December 18th is the governor's budget proposal that's a day we all look forward to to see how the governor is what his plan is for divvying out money to everywhere around the state including public education January 23 is PTA legislative day where we get get to see a lot of our our local Folks up there talking with legislators and January 27th is the vsba capital legislative Conference of course when

078many of our school board members uh will come up and talk with their legislators about some priorities and hopefully if all goes well early early April we will see the veto session convene and and adjourn and they'll then know what is in the budget and what what are the law laws for the next upcoming year so that's just a quick overview um wanted to take a look last year we focused on really on issues relating to the school funding formula uh that was probably the major thing that that look we looked at uh last year and really uh this jar um joint legislative audit and review commission did a landmark study showing that uh what a lot of people already knew but they showed just uh how much underfunding was going on in the state

079of Virginia for public education when compared to other states nationally um the legislators I I'm pleased to say responded quickly to the jlar report uh which of course showed significant shortfalls in funding and to recap the um jar report in essence uh in summary showed that uh Virginia funds schools on average about 14% less and other states that equals about $1,900 per pupil and if you do the rough math on that uh that's almost $50 million a year for Newport News Public Schools alone so there's some there's some major work to be done in in um trying to address that but they did start last year um so let's see take a look at what happened uh so that we know what we need to do next this coming session the generaly did recognize um

080did did uh complete some good legislative actions uh from that that addressed Parts but only parts of the glar report uh they included um about $31 million for additional reading specialist positions about $34 million a year for English learner English language learner uh teachers um worked on the staff support cap reduction uh which was an arbitrary reduction in how many people uh the state would pay for made really during the Great Recession and has been with us now for I guess about 14 years so they're working on getting rid of that artificial reduction uh and they put about 2 $25 million a year towards it still a long ways to go because this was a major major reduction in 2010 uh consolidating the at risk and prevention intervention and and adding funding which is great

081for um our School Division $186 million a year Statewide uh teacher pay raises providing a 3% State share for covered staff um at about 225 million a year and they did complete the re benchmarking which is done during the uh budget session every year and added about $480 million a year through rebenchmarking and they also provided some specific uh uh funding for new News Public Schools uh by the by way of school security enhancement so we're we're pleased with the progress they made but there's still a lot to to do when looking at this jaar report um and so moving forward you know that plenty to be done and kind of show shown on this slide um one of the main reasons for the imbalance uh between the number of people actually working in our

082schools and a number funding by the current standards of quality it was that that reduction in uh support staff and as this slide shows it's really small and I apologize for that um the graphic on it shows that actual Staffing across Virginia schools is 51% higher than what the state formula actually assumes and pays for so there you you go with that if it was if it was a state formula recognizing all these people that actually work in our schools that we we pay for uh through local tax dollars uh again we we'd probably be having somewhere around $50 million more per year um for newort news alone uh so the jlar uh joint subcommittee is looking at this and it will be the probably the major issue in in in uh public education this

083year and we're lucky to have our own Senator Mamye locke chairing that that um subcommittee or that joint committee and they are working now to Prior prioritize funding items prior to the session and they meet again on December 9th and I know that Dr Mitchell had a had a great chance to sit with uh Senator locke um and talk to her about some of these things not too long ago at a conference and uh so they they they're hearing our voices and hopefully they will be able to prioritize some things for us this year um positive fiscal Outlook uh I put up here that there's a lot a lot to to do in terms of a lot of money that would take to actually uh address all the glr things the good news is Virginia

084right now has announced a surplus of about 1.2 billion there's some other reports out there that that's showing that that there's uh about another 2.5 billion in additional tax revenue coming uh for the upcoming year so that would make almost $4 billion in new money that the general assembly has to look at in uh uh providing to you know the state this year so we'll look at that and we'll try to make make the case that an investment in public education and through this jar report funding would be a good way to spend some of that money uh so the 220 2025 legislative program really boils down to two major issues first is um the first was the jaar report and all the soq um standards of quality uh funding that we we know we

085need the second is a new issue uh that you haven't seen in your legislative program before I know you've all heard about it but it's about a a new proposal by the state uh Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Board of Education for a school performance and support framework to replace the current accountability system for schools um this was really came out late summer uh early fall when we started getting word on what it would actually look like um and unfortunately it doesn't hasn't really um gotten a lot of support from Educators around the state uh for a number of reasons uh one thing it doesn't do is it does not maintain the growth measures that were so important that we worked on trying to get uh the state to recognize not just did you

086make the cut but how far did you grow this year and I think you saw some of your schools recognized this year because of growth and that's an important thing uh to continue doing so we'd like the um we'd like to advocate for the state to delay implementing the school performance program to look at growth measures make sure that they're included and not and not pushed aside uh to maintain elll support English language learner support previously or currently English language Learners have uh people who have come to our country and are are brand new in the country in the school systems uh have 11 semesters before have to take uh the so tests um the new plan would would bring that down to three semesters so that's a big change we'd like to look at

087what what that what does that really mean uh we'd also like to provide uh the state to provide a way to have a a parallel system implementation in other words use the system we're using now and use the system that they want to bring in same time for at least one year that was done several years ago and it did show uh a a lot of the problems that were with the new system just bugs that had to be worked out but by doing a parallel system they were able to see you know just how much was changing and where it was changing uh and and lastly identify the funding supports that are going to be needed for this if we need to get our elll students ready in three semesters um what what do

088we what kind of funding do we need what kind of teachers do we need what kind of extra supports do we need so those things um all kind of have come together to say we'd like to advocate for a delay in this until the 2026 20 yeah 2026 2027 school year um so that would be um the the new position here now we have several continuing positions raise teacher pay to the national average or above um I don't need to talk to you about how important that is we're still still way behind um other states um uh in terms of our prosperity in Virginia but what we actually pay for our teachers uh increased funds for school facilities both state funding in terms of Grants like they did a few years ago but also to

089provide the local fund the local options and equalize the local options right now nine localities around the state have an option of increasing uh Revenue uh through a sales tax tax option capped at 1% for for a definite period of time but no other school divisions do no other locality do um that actually passed both houses that legislation that we've asked for uh passed both houses the Senate and the delegates last year but was vetoed so we want to keep working on that uh and bring it across the finish line and then finally um not finally but this has been a a long-standing thing but to develop a permanent funding stream for onetoone laptop support uh internet access and Staffing uh you know when the pandemic came in we quickly went to a one: one

090uh with I think great success and a lot of hard work by all the people in the school division school board and funding right now we're spending about $2 million a year I had previously had a million dollar a year it's it's gone up to $2 million a year just to keep this going in addition to what we already paid uh so we we really desperately need the uh state to take a look at this uh and at the same time the federal funding that was temporary step stop Gap measures uh funding is has gone away so it's become a little bit more important a little more pressing uh than ever so there are other some other uh long-term standing um uh uh positions in your legislative program but I won't go over those tonight

091um I just want to say the next steps and I'd be happy to answer any questions or take any suggestions uh either now or later uh we'll provide our legislators with a copy of the draft program have to take your legislator to school day and give them a little bit of short a shortened version of this probably just a couple slides uh take action on this uh uh proposal at the December 17th board meeting and then support uh obviously support the legislative program uh during the 2025 General assembley Session so with that I will stop and see if there are any questions or suggestions thank you questions thank you all right thank very much thank you very much you have a good night thank you and we'll move right on to newer revised policies after

092to mention thank you so much Miss Tracy Brooks is going to come to share some of the new and revised policies thank you Miss Brooks you very much again good evening Madame chair Madam Vice chair members of the board Dr Mitchell uh this past July the governor released an executive order calling for cell phone free education across the state in response to the order the policy committee developed a new draft policy that addresses students use of cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices in our schools the policy and procedure are still a work in progress but we wanted to take the opportunity to speak about the state's guidance and to share our draft documents with you and the viewing public this evening now in addition to the proposed cell phone policy that supports best

093practices in the school division the policy committee reviewed all of the policies and procedures in the chapter on foundations and basic commitments and the chapter on Education Agency relations as a part of the ongoing review of our school board policies required by the state code and I'll take a moment to speak very briefly about those two chapters as well the first item this evening is our new draft policy and procedure that we developed in response to the governor's executive order 33 which implements cell phone free education in Virginia's public schools according to the order parents public health professionals Educators and other stakeholders across the Commonwealth Express concern over the alarming mental Health crisis and chronic health conditions affecting adolescents such as depression and anxiety driven in part by extensive social media use and widespread cell

094phone use among students the major thinking and support of the order was that cell phone free education in public schools is essential to promote a healthier and more Focused educational environment where every child can learn free of distractions so why does cell phone education matter well according to data compiled by the Virginia Department of Education students who carry their cell phones throughout the day look at their phones approximately 51 times a day and receive an average of 237 notifications per day in 2022 2third of students in this country reported being distracted by using digital devices and about 54% said that they were distracted by other students using their devices as well and while students spend an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media recent studies indicate that spending more than three hours per

095day on social media doubles the risk of poor mental health for adolescents So based on those data points and others in the Virginia Departments of Education research sellr free education will benefit our students by one providing them with distraction-free learning in their classrooms creating more focused Learning Time both teachers can provide instruction without managing distractions from cell phones and other devices second by focusing student instructional experiences on engagement and in-person learning third by allowing students to develop critical communication skills fourth by encouraging opportunities for students to develop authentic personal relationships during non-structured learning times and fifth by improving students mental health by reducing Stress and Anxiety caused by feeling the need to respond to social media notifications throughout the day now before talking more about the new state guidance I would like to review our

096current policy which served as a starting point for our work so presently elementary and middle school students must keep cell phones and other two two-way communication devices such as smart watches off during regular school hours and may use them after school dismissal the Middle School motto is off and away for the day high school students must keep cell phones and other two-way communication devices off during regular school hours but are permitted to use their devices during lunchtime and After School dismissal cell phones and other two-way communication devices must be stored during the instructional day and students backpacks Pockets or may be worn in the case of smart watches so over the past couple of months we've been sharing information from the Virginia Department of education's recent guidance ensuring that the use of cell phones and

097other personal communication devices does not interfere with teaching and learning or with maintaining a safe and orderly environment during the school day now our current cell phone policy is consistent for the most part with the state guidance but there are a few changes that we are proposing for greater alignment and following the state guidance our draft policy restricts the use of cell phones and personal communication devices such as Apple watches from Bell to Bell as defined in the state guidelines which means when the first bell rings at the start of the school day to begin instructional time until the dismissal bell rings at the end of the academic day Bell to Bell includes the time between Class periods and most cases The Lunch Period as well but we are proposing an exception and I'll speak

098to that in a later slide in our new policy personal electronic communication device means any personal device capable of connecting to a smartphone the internet or a cellular a Wi-Fi network personal electronic communication devices include wearable devices such as smart watches personal headphones and earbuds also for all students cell phones and electronic communication devices must be stored during the instructional day in our new draft policy store means that a cell phone must be kept in the student's backpack and not carried on the student's person in the student pocket or worn on the students wrist now our school division's draft procedure to the policy outlines its implementation by level so this is our new procedure that we are proposing in elementary schools students will not use cell phones or other personal devices from the opening bell

099to the dismissal Bell during the school day students may use devices during after school activities under the supervision of the teacher or activity sponsor in Middle School students will not have a cell phone or other personal electronic communication device during the bell to Bell school day they may use cell phones during Afterschool activities including off-site School sponsored or athletic events the rules for high school students are similar to those for Middle School however high school students will be allowed to use cell phones and other devices during their lunch period which is different from the state guidance the exception was recommended in response to input from senior staff principals and students in support of developing students digital citizenship for example our career ready students may have rules about specific times for cell phone use in their

100future in their future workplaces and this will prepare them in learning how to plan accordingly allowing cell phone use at lunchtime also provides an opportunity for high school students who are currently working to connect to their jobs if needed and on a personal note it allows students the opportunity to manage their UH responsibilities from doctor's appointments to last minute arrangements to pick up a sibling just for an example and while our high school administrators believe that we currently have adequate staff coverage for lunch periods if lunchtime is included in the bell-to-bell time period they anticipate the need for for additional staff and high school cafeterias for monitoring purposes and as mentioned before cell phones and personal electronic devices must be kept in a student's backpack and not carried on the student's person not in the

101student's pocket not worn on the student wrist or around the student's neck for headphones or earbuds now when the Department of Education conducted public hearings across the state informing the new guidance concerns were expressed about students not being able to use their cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices for medical needs so in alignment with the state guidance our policy proposal allows exemptions for students medical needs which must be documented specifically in the students individual education plan or IEP a 504 plan an individualized health care plan or in a limited English proficiency plan for students with a documented language barrier so in coming weeks the School Division will continue to inform students staff and families about this new cell phone policy which has an effective date across the state of January 2025 so in

102terms of our next steps we will disseminate the pro the pro excuse me the pro proposed policy and procedure in news lines which is our electronic communication ation to families explaining the why behind the policy changes we will create internal and external communication campaigns to message the policy approved by the school board and we will work with school leaders on implementing the policy and their buildings and then we will monitor the policy and procedure for consistent implementation next I would like to speak to the policy committee's ongoing policy chapter review process which included the policies and procedures in two chapters the first chapter was on foundations and basic commitments which affirms the school board's philosophical commitments through its policies that support academic success school safety non-discrimination drug and tobacco free schools student and staff wellness

103and other areas the second chapter on Education Agency relations addresses the school board's relationships with other school divisions St state and federal agencies colleges and universities and public charter schools the policies and procedures in these two chapters are posted on board docs for review and most of the revisions that the committee made to these policies were minor edits to update and streamline the policy language to increase alignment with the state code to reflect current practices to reduce redundancy or to make changes to staff position titles so so in terms of our next steps the new and revised policies including the cell phone policy and the two policy chapters that I just mentioned will come before the school board for Action at your December 17th meeting and once approved the new and revised policies and procedures

104will be posted on our school division websites and news lines and disseminated to schools and public libraries so this concludes my report this evening um Mr Wallen and I will be happy to respond to your questions and to note your suggestions thank you thank you board members questions questions comments I think I would just encourage the community not necessary question for you but encourage the community to look at the draft cell phone policy really think through it you know there's that difference of lunch so really think through think through that and give us your feedback great thank you I I have one question yes is there going to be a survey or something regarding the parents right we had discussed having a survey to get feedback from the parents and it's either a survey or

105proposing our draft but we are going to solicit their input before moving forward so yes we will providing that vehicle yes thank you no other okay great thank you thank you um let's moving on let's see 5.03 attendance reports 5.04 membership reports and 5.05 construction report board members you have received a copy of this report are there any questions hearing n hearing none we'll move on to item 5.06 comments by the superintendent Dr Mitchell good evening and thank you last week was nnps proud week I extended a sincere thank you to all schools and work sites that participated in this campaign to highlight the incredible work and accomplishments that are happening in every classroom and in every Department throughout this great School Division our goal really was to show that newport News Public Schools is

106a vibrant part of what makes Newport News an All America City I encourage students families staff and the community to get involved and you most certainly did you shared your photos your videos and nnps proud shoutouts with us on social media again thank you for sharing the great things that are happening here in Newport News public schools that make this a smart place to learn and work [Music] last Friday Newport News Public Schools hosted a site visit for the Department of educa Department of Defense Education activity which awarded our School Division a grant to expand our dual language immersion program and you know we are very proud of our dual language immersion program we had the privilege of Hosting over 100 participants from the DOA community of practice conference representing a representing various regions of

107across the country after a brief overview of our program Our Guest visited Watkins Early Childhood Center and Katherine Johnson Elementary School for classroom observations Innovative instruction and demonstrations of virtual reality in World Language instruction a big thank you to our teaching and learning and our world language teams for a very successful site visit the Youth Development Department presented its Fifth and ual more than a princess girls empowerment conference which was held on November the 8th and 9th at Woodside High School on opening night students in grades three through 12 participated in a high energy empowered rally with performances music and giveaways the young ladies also had a chance to network with female champions from across the region Saturday's event included an opening session on personal branding body image and the impact of social media on

108Mental Health empowerment workshops on positive self-image navigating relationships financial literacy and interviewing skills and activities fair that included stem activities were sponsored by Brooks Crossing Innovation Labs special thank you to the youth development team and we have their director here in the back thank you Miss Bridget Adams for coordinating another great empowerment event lots of good things are continuing to happen 10 first Lego League robotics teams from Newport News Public Schools competed in the regional qualifier on November the 9th at Crittenden middle school with 10 teams we had the most participants congratulations to the team from Newsome Park Elementary School who earned the core values award and the team from Macintosh Elementary School who was recognized with the judges award teams representing Carver Deer Park the Discovery STEM Academy General Stanford Yates Crittenden Gildersleeve and

109Booker T also competed I also want to give a big shout out to our high school student athletes for a great fall season congratulations to our regional Champs the Heritage High School boys volleyball team the Menchville High golf team and the Menchville High girls volleyball team all of our football teams made it to the Regional playoffs last week then Heritage Menchville work and Woodside I know pretty impressive right and the regional semifinals will be held this week in class five region B Warwick High School will face Maury at palwan field on Friday night November 22nd at 7 pm. I will close out by reminding all families that schools will be closed for students on Wednesday through Friday November 27th through the 29 9th all offices will be open on a halfday schedule on Wednesday November

11027th please spend some time with your family and friends relax and rejuvenate have a happy and safe Thanksgiving break that concludes my comments thank you Dr Mitchell we will now move on to item six another opportunity to hear from the public Miss Buffalo are there any cards no ma'am all right moving right along we will move to agenda item Matters by the school board I'm sorry yeah items Matters by the school board and we will will begin with our student representative good evening I just wanted to share that the superintendent student Advisory Group met for the first time a few weeks ago and we had the opportunity to share our thoughts about the draft cell phone policy through an activity that was facilitated by Ella Fitzgerald principal Dr ransome and Woodside principal Dr Hardesty we

111had a great discussion and we look forward to seeing the final poliy policy that the board approves I'm also looking forward to attending the student representative to the Schoolboard session tomorrow during the Virginia Schoolboard association's annual convention thank you and have a great evening thank you all right it's exciting we'll see you there we'll see you tomorrow so we'll move right along we'll just come right on down the um we'll begin with you Mr Brown okay well congratulations it has been five years but I see that we have finally gotten through the last chapter of the policy manual well by by next month in December we'll have voted on the last chapter so it took us five years but we made it through and then now it's time to start it all over again but

112it was great that we we embarked on this and made the commitment five years ago so I want to say hats off to the board appreciate that the commitment for that work uh which is I think really important work that we're doing because uh that's the policies are what we say to express what what our values are to both the students and the public so I appreciate that important work second thing I wanted to mention tonight just pivoting over to completely different topic talk about concussions uh which is um near and dear to my heart because I've been watching and this is no particular comment on any um on any coaches by just watching this generation of athletes and the players and and looking at a lot of uh games and watching how they fall

113and what I what I'm noticing is that uh young people in this generation simply have not learned how to fall uh and learning to fall is an actual physical skill uh it is actually something important to learn it's something that you learn when you play so I think it's a consequence of kids playing less they're doing a lot more organized activities as opposed to General more General play and then you know physical uh education in general so then they're not learning to fall um and the evidence of that is if you watch because I I sit and I watch uh um even NFL players their heads are slapping onto the turf and you like to say that helmet protects your head but it's not an invincibility Shield you're not supposed to allow your head to

114smack onto the turf like a lot of players I see them doing and so I'm not one to bring up a problem without talking about Solutions one I think you know uh young people need to learn how to fall learning to fall is actually learning to uh fall onto your shoulder blades so that your your shoulders absorb the as opposed to your neck and your head tucking your chin okay when you fall so that way when you fall your your your upper body is taking the brunt of the blow as opposed to your brain second thing I is what I'm observing is I believe that players uh athletes in general because this across the board soccer football all of these um Sports where concussions are an issue they're not strengthening the neck the neck is

115what allows you to have the strength when you crash into the ground actually hold your head up and keep it away from the ground and so it's critically important and I think that a lot of in our strength and conditioning programs that a lot more um youth need to work on strengthening their neck and it doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment you can buy a band so if you don't have enough money for a band I'll give you $10 you can go get one you get a rubber band you tie to a fence post and you hold your head you go this way you go that way go that way right and go this way and get some get some repetitions going in strengthen up the strengthen up the neck and that will um

116I I know I know it will be uh reduce um concussions because that is something that when talking to now I'm one of the old guys right and talking to guys that I used to play with and we talk about what's different what we observed to be different is that young people are not working on their neck strength as we did back in back in the old days so um that's my public service announcement this evening is that I just think that's really critically important that's something that we need to a point of emphasis uh for young people and it's going to um significantly reduce the number of concussions because as I said I'm noticing that that rate is increasing and what I noticed is that really players just aren't able to uh fall correctly

117and hold their head up off the turf thank you Mr harris uh no comments Mr Hunter no comment Miss aman thank you I'll be very brief I just want to tell everyone to enjoy the break next week get some rest spend some time with your family and then we'll come back for a few more weeks before the holiday break all right and I just want to say I'm I'm proud of all the schools that were presented uh today in terms of growth and we want to recognize growth each and every school and I can promise you even schools that weren't here they have growth uh in their data and uh we will continue to celebrate and Report because um we're doing great things so and let's continue to to do that for our children thank

118you Mr yes that I'm gonna Echo Miss alger sentiment um that is what just hung with me this entire meeting is the growth that we are seeing in our division um it is documented and undocumented and I think it's exciting to know and important to note that this growth is measured after covid um and for the schools that uh performed such that they were recognized um you know by the state is tremendous and we're just so proud of those Educators in those buildings sticking the course and then of course to our students to being willing to learn and to do the work so that they can improve and be the best Scholars they can be so I'm very excited this evening okay and I would just like to say happy American Education week I had

119an opportunity to read to um students at Discovery stem today and they just warmed my heart and just once again reinforced why we do um what we do so thank you to all of the teachers and staff for pouring into our young people every single day um please enjoy your families enjoy the time off and just take a breather and just be thankful for the things that we do um have and and just enjoy your Thanksgiving break this meeting is adjourned [Music]