001[Music] Good evening I would like to call to order the regular meeting of the Newport News school board for Tuesday September 19th 2023 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 on online a quorum is present to transact the business of the school division we will begin tonight's meeting with the invocation and pledge to the flag here to do the honors is Aaron Lin our school board student representative hello okay good morning sbo members and superintendent Dr Mitchell my name is Aaron Lin I am a rising I am a senior at Woodside High School and I am also the student representative to the new new school board so I would like to as we begin
002the new school year I would like to share a poem written by Dr um by Mr Ralph W Emerson and the title is called Success what is success to to laugh and often much oh to laugh of often and much to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children to earn the appreciation of honest critics endure the Betrayal of false friends to appreciate Beauty to find the best in others to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy whether by a healthy child a garden patch or redeemed social condition to know that even one life has breath easier because you have lived this is to have suceeded and please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance thank you I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and
003to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible and justice for all thank you Aaron and I'll also just take this moment to thank Aaron for spending time with us over the past couple of weekends we've had some Civic responsibilities with parades and things that the board has participated in and um Aaron has been right there with us so thank you we appreciate your dedication and time the next item on our agenda is School Board recognition so Dr Mitchell please join me at the podium good evening good evening I have the honor of presenting this month's recognitions each year the Virginia school boards Association or the vsba recognizes media associations and reporters for providing valuable information to the community about public schools the media honor rooll recognizes Representatives who provide balanced and
004accurate information media representatives are nominated for this recognition by the local school board and named to the media honor role presented by the Virginia school boards Association this evening on behalf of the Newport News school board we are pleased to recognize the 202 23 inductee WTKR news3 present this evening to accept this recognition on behalf of the news3 team is Allison Herman the news director of WTKR and wgnt Miss Herman please come [Applause] forward Miss Herman's being presented with a special res resolution signed by each member of the school board it reads resolution of recognition naming WTKR News 3 to the 2023 Virginia school boards Association media honor rooll whereas public schools are shaped by the community to provide the most appropriate and Effective Education for the children who attend those schools and whereas public
005schools are dependent upon the community support including identifying and setting goals for the education of students establishing successful volunteer booster and Mentor programs in schools providing annual funding of operations and in electing qualified school board members and whereas much of the community's knowledge and opinions about public schools rely on responsible reporting by local media Representatives who decides which news to share and with the community and how much attention will be focused on various issues and whereas wtk KR news3 provides accurate and balanced coverage of Newport News school board meetings School Division news events and athletic programs and the successes achieved by students and staff and whereas WTKR news3 is committed to highlighting positive Community stories through its positively Hampton Roads coverage and news3 everyday hero Awards program and whereas wtkr3 has supported local literacy efforts
006through if you give a child a book campaign and ensure local Educators and students receive much needed educational materials through its clear the list school supply drive for teachers and the backpack Blitz for kids now therefore be it resolve that the Newport News school board places WTKR news3 on the Statewide media honor role calling attention to the television station ongoing responsible and balanced coverage and support of our Community Schools students and staff in witness thereof we have here to set our hands this 19th day of September 2023 congratulations and thank you very much we appreciate we're going to grab a picture and Miss Herman we express our appreciation to the WTKR News team for their balanced approach to sharing with the community both the challenges facing our schools and our students success so please share
007this acknowledgement with the entire team and thank you for for coming in 2020 the Virginia school 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 narrowing achievement gaps and making progress toward equity and access and opportunity for all students tonight we're pleased to recognize two Newport News schools that earned recognition in this program Discovery STEM Academy and Greenwood Elementary School earned 2324 Virginia Board of Education Exemplar awards for continuous Improvement the Exemplar award for continuous Improvement is awarded to schools that demonstrate an increase in the combined pass rate for math reading and science tests for each of the past three years or to students who schools who have increased in the combined rate for two
008or more student groups in reading and math for each of the three preceding years these Awards represent a collaborative effort among Educators students and families present this evening to accept the recognition on behalf of the discovery STEM Academy school Community are several members of their leadership team please join us in congratulating principal Travis humble Mr humble please come forward assistant principal Charlotte [Applause] bordino kindergarten Lead Teacher Elizabeth [Applause] Guthrie first grade Lead Teacher Elena [Applause] shorter Second Great Lead Teacher Mara [Applause] Benson um our third grade Lead Teacher Samantha MCO I hope I said that correctly um was unable to join us so I think we might have um third grade teacher cie m milans thank you for representing the third grade [Applause] team and the fourth grade Lead Teacher was unable to join us
009this evening and that's uh Bradley Farah and also the uh fifth grade teacher also had a conflict our fifth grade Lead Teacher uh Deandra Peno but please join us in welcoming special education Lead Teacher sandre Smith and related arts lead Christine [Applause] hood and Discovery STEM Academy is well on its way this is the third time that the school has earned a continuous Improvement award so please join me in another round of congratulations for this team take a picture okay going to have you come down set so we can [Applause] also earning a 2223 Board of educational Exemplar award for continuous Improvement is the Greenwood Elementary School Community please join us in congratulating assistant assistant principal Jamaica Davis Davis the principal Ethel Francis is a little under the weather this evening but we know she's
010watching and present in spirit please also congratulate kindergarten Lead Teacher Hannah Hots first grade Lead Teacher Amy Daniel and the third grade Lead Teacher Anita Wescott was unable to be present um and um I'm not sure if Deborah Glover is here to represent okay all right so we congratulate the second grade lead team as well and please welcome third grade Lead Teacher Sandra Van lelt to pause a little bit and fourth grade Lead Teacher Heather sh Bo Garcia fifth grade Lead Teacher Chelsea my singer our special education Lead Teacher ma Jones and the related arts Lead Teacher Lisa Chambers just would like to say um actually give the Greenwood Elementary School Community team one more round of applause congratulations on this te you can pleas one award and this is this is um a prestigious
011award as you know it's um very difficult to show continuous Improvement um and so for the 23 20 22 23 school year just 9 three schools in Virginia earned this award so we're very proud of these two schools please join us in another round of applause for both schools we like to get a picture with you as well light again congratulations to all of our honores this evening WTKR Channel 3 Discovery Sim Academy and Greenwood Elementary School this concludes um the recognitions for this evening at this time we're going to take about an 8 minute break so honores and their families may leave if you choose to do so you're certainly welcome to stay during this time our viewing audience will have an opportunity to view this month Schoolboard Spotlight so we'll stand in recess
012for about eight minutes thank you [Music] welcome to the 2023 2024 school year last week students arrived for the first day of school with a wonderful blend of excitement and anticipation students across Newport News Public Schools were greeted warmly by enthusiastic Educators and with increased security measures at all schools students have a safe environment to grow academically emotionally and socially new superintendent Dr Michelle Mitchell and chief academic officer Dr Kip Rogers took time during the week to visit every school in Newport News greeting students and thanking Educators for their great work Huntington is rising after years of being vacant historical Huntington Middle School is experiencing a revitalization Newport News public schools in the City of Newport News hosted a community event to celebrate the next chapter elected officials School leaders City Representatives Huntington alumni and
013an invested Community attended the outdoor event to unveil the plans for a state-of-the-art middle school and the Southeast Community Resource area to include a public library Community Center sports features and a splash pad through a strong partnership between the City of Newport News Newport News public schools and the community this new school will build on the Proud Legacy of Huntington that began in 1920 and even though the building will be different the school will still be a source of Pride for the community where the student students staff and neighbors will add their own chapters to the historic stories of success at Huntington before students arrived for their first day weeks of preparation and hard work at each School set the stage for a smooth start and for the 16th year freshman from Christopher Newport University
014lent a helping hand and ongoing Christopher Newport welcome week tradition is day one of service where incoming freshmen spend one of their first days as college students volunteering and serving their new community with service being one of the four pillars of a rounded Christopher Newport Education First Year captains are given this opportunity to become a Force for good in the world the day is organized by CNU Center for Community engagement who assists students in building Community Partnerships as they grow into civic-minded leaders this year almost 5 00 students served a range of community organizations and nonprofits across the peninsula including over 20 schools in Newport News painting welcome signs organizing learning materials for teachers beautifying outdoor Landscapes and helping Educators set up their classrooms were just a few of the important tasks these college students
015were involved in CNU faculty upper classmen service Scholars and student leaders played a guiding role at each site while encouraging the students to use this time to bond with their new classmates with far reaching benefits day one of service plays an important role in Transforming Our local community and Beyond Discovery STEM Academy and Greenwood Elementary School have been recognized by the Virginia Board of Education for exceeding academic requirements both were among 93 schools across the the Commonwealth to earn the 2022 2023 Exemplar Award of continuous Improvement this is awarded to schools that exceed board established requirements or show continuous Improvement on academic and school quality indicators over the past 3 years both schools have increased their standards of learning test Pass rates in multiple subjects and increased their combined Pass rates by double digits thanks
016to the dedication and hard work of skilled Educators students and families these School communities have made great efforts to create an atmosphere of success and continual academic achievement School leaders and elected officials came together to discuss effective measures to support students and Educators Congressman Bobby Scott the ranking member of the US House committee on education and the workforce visited Washington Middle School where he attended when it was an elementary scho school after the tour local elected officials Advocates and school leaders from different cities across Hampton Roads sat down to talk about Congressman Scott's rebuild America's School Act of 2023 Newport News Public Schools was strongly represented by Advanced leadership and school board members the purpose of this Federal investment is to repair replace and upgrade public school facilities to support students learning and protect the
017health heal and safety of both students and School staff during the summer months The Great Outdoors becomes the classroom for high school students looking to fulfill their graduation requirements in physical education outdoor education is a 3-week course offered through two sessions during the summer months with a focus on various outdoor skills to enhance both mental and physical well-being outdoor education inspires students to to experience physical education in a new and exciting way this past summer 89 students participated in outdoor education where skilled Educators First Complete specialized training to confidently and safely guide students through daily excursions each morning buses transport students to Newport News Park where they fill their day with hiking boating fishing archery camping skills and a variety of outdoor experiences after completing outdoor education 1 students are welcome to enroll in outdoor
018education 2 which offers even more exciting Adventures such as a daylong canoe trip extended kaying and an overnight camping trip where students work together to set up their campsite and prepare their own outdoor dinner Community Partners offer even more unique experiences students learned aquatic safety water rescue techniqu techniques and played underwater games with the trained staff at Bingham Midtown Aquatic Center and the James River Association took students on Scenic kayak trips around the waters near historic Jamestown Settlement by completing outdoor education courses high school students have the opportunity to satisfy their health and physical education graduation requirements in the summer earning half a credit for each course completed this approach creates more room in their schedule for rigorous courses of study during the school year as they work towards an advanced studies diploma while also
019learning skills safety practices responsibility teamwork and self-awareness in an engaging Outdoor [Music] Classroom okay I hope you enjoyed this month's School Board Spotlight to begin the business of the evening the superintendent has shared draft procedures related to the treatment of transgender students with board members um Council to the board has indicated that the procedures are consistent with the 2023 model guidelines approved by uh vdoe Virginia Department of Education final edits will be made to the procedures based on board member input so I have garnered the input of the board to make this a priority and the expectation is that the procedures will be approved by the superintendent within the next few days and then we will present those to the public in a format so we're going to move on to during our regular uh
020meetings we provide time for the public to address the school board these opportunities are scheduled in the early part of our agenda and also towards the end of the meeting as advertised citizens May submit comment cards via email up until uh 30 minutes prior to our meeting time to be included in the official meeting record for those of you joining us in person the board considers it an opportunity to listen to your comments please understand that we will consider your concerns we ask that you comply with our 3 minute time limit as you begin your comments a green light will come on a yellow light signals that you have 30 seconds remaining and a red light and beep indicates your time is up as your name is called I'll ask you to come forward we
021have uh about 20 plus cards this this evening so we're going to take the first uh 10 or so and then we're going to move on uh with the remainder of our agenda so that families who've tuned in to hear the back to school reports and such they will have the opportunity to do so and then we'll pick up with the comments thereafter okay so the first one that we have is Michelle nordine all right good evening for those who don't know me my name is Michelle nordine and I'm the Newport News Council of pta's President the purpose of a council is to Foster communication between and among ptas and parent volunteers within a single School Division to to share best practices respond to Common concerns be a voice for parents provide parent parent educational
022resources and Advocate locally with their school board for policies and resources that improve family engagement and Student Success I want to give you an update on ptas in our school district and talk a little bit about the PTA last year we had 24 active ptas this year we have two brand new ptas at an achievable dream Academy and virtual Learning Academy at Point option we have an additional nine ptas in the process of restarting this will give us 35 ptas in the school district this year yes this year the Newport News council is focusing on increasing our PTA membership last year we only had 17 50 PTA members across all of our ptas as of today we have 1,338 PTA members great um I am here to ask for your help and the community's help
023to increase our PTA memberships across our district before I go into detail on how you can help I would like to briefly share some information what a lot of people don't know is that each PTA must pay dues to Virginia PTA and National PTA which total $3.75 per member these dues are used for Virginia PTA and National PTA to help Advocate on our behalf I always summarize this as we are paying Virginia PTA and National PTA to talk to our legis legislators so we don't have to the more PTA members we have the more Virginia PTA and National PTA can advocate for us at the state and National level level we need the community's help to support our mission the pta's mission is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families
024and communities to advocate for all children people in our communities can help by becoming a PTA member at a school in their neighborhood being a PTA member does not require you to volunteer if you want to volunteer that is fabulous great all the positive adjectives put put in that sentence if you don't have time to volunteer you can still be a PTA member we would classify you as a support member a support member represents people in the community or school who support the mission of the PTA and support the advocacy activities and resources the PTA provides guides there are several benefits of having a PTA at your at our schools research has shown that children perform better when parents are engag both at home and at school I'm running out of time parental involvement boost
025student achievement our schools benefit by having the PTA Provide support for teachers and AD administrators the PTA strives to create a positive and caring atmosphere in the school for all all children here are just a few ways the PTA advocates for our children standards of quality mental health building modernization special education School nutrition literacy instruction School nurses and access to student data I am currently in a working group to help the Virginia Department of Education build a better portal for parents to have access to helpful information about your students council is running two membership challenges this year our first challenge is called put the tea in PTA this challenge is aimed at having 100% teacher and administrator just a little long KCK go ahead okay to cheve um administrator PTA membership at each school with
026the PTA the first school to achieve this at each level at the elementary middle and high school will receive a traveling trophy with their name on it we are hoping to make this a yearly competition to see which schools can win this trophy our Second Challenge is where the community and families come in Council will give a monetary award to the PTA at each level who has the most PTA members this challenge runs from August 28th to February 29 to 2024 so please become a PTA member to not only support the PTA Mission but to also help your child's PTA your neighborhood PTA or your alumni PTA when the council's called a membership Challenge and to help all of our children in our schools thank you so much for letting me go over thank you
027Miss nordine thank you for your dedication to our PTA program in Newport News public school so thank you for that uh the second person is I believe this is kowana uh Warren little nervous good evening school board members good evening Dr Mitchell and congratulations to you um I just had three concerns one is our spare population I'm a special education teacher our students are placed in the wrong class setting um more should be done to correct this problem and in the terms of special education we speak in data so we do have data that a lot of our kids have placed in the wrong classroom setting and we would like to have this situation corrected immediately if possible the second thing is school safety our classrooms are overpopulated some of our primary grades have 26
028to 31 kids parents are complaining directly to school board members and administr employees and this complaint in most cases is being used as a threat how can we teach when we are constantly threatened by parents students and in some cases our administrators lastly accountability measures could the district provide some type of transparency when it comes to our district leaders we still have some of our district leaders that are positioning themselves to not know the seriousness of issues that are going on in their buildings they're dodging uh serious concerns in our buildings and it's becoming a major issue and it's also becoming a safety issue so how can we continue the rest of the school year to provide a safe classroom environment how can we effectively teach our students if we have students placed in the
029wrong classes how can we effectively teach students if we're constantly threatened with the threats of school board admit in administration so please take our concerns take them seriously we need someone that we can trust we need someone who can go straight to our wonderful superintendent and we need someone that would be there for us my tagline has been I don't need friendship I need leadership and we need y' leadership thank you Larry Elliot hello evening everyone uh yes my name is Larry Elliot um I am a resident here here in newport news and pretty much Native veteran and I just want to take the time uh to speak to the board here to say that we would like to continue for you to press in and embrace the change and saying of replacing the current
030Norm holdover policies and the policy JB d-p with the entirety of the youngkin administration Revised 2023 model model policies on transgender issue in our schools these revive issues and not just incremental improvements we would like them to be a a a vital step of going forward in the future is a we want the environment where where our Educators no longer feel pressure to deceive or hide information from parents especially when it concerns their children exploration of gender identity in school we need a system where parents are not only notified but also given the chance to voice their concerns before any counseling regarding gender is provided to their children these policy make it crystal clear that our schools cannot and should not infringe upon the rights of employees or students to uphold their faith uh uphold
031on their faith and cons we must protect every individual freedom to speak words that align with their deeply held beliefs can we come together in our commitment to creating a more transparent inclusive and respectful educational environment for all like say and it's time to replace the current Northam holding policies uh in the JB U JB dasp with the entirety of the youngkin administration revive model and I like to say I think this is very important and going in the future thank you thank you Tanisha press good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak my name is Tanisha press um this isn't the first time I've been up here on August 26 2021 I stood before the school board some of the faces have actually changed and I uh spoke a warning I asked
032for you all to reject the state transgender policy or God would remove his hedge of protection over Newport News Public Schools unfortunately and despite the warning the school board decided to reverse that course of action and we rejected God's ways in September of 2021 to 17-year-old student students were wounded when a 15-year-old boy fired shots in a crowded at hallway um high school hallway two months after that shooting an 18-year-old student fataly shot a 17-year-old in a parking lot after a high school game in January 2023 a teacher was shot in by her own first grade student all of that innocent blood is on our hands and that's not a coincidence but that's rather a consequence of our own Rebellion but the people have spoken and Governor youngkin has overturned our poor judgment last month
033we heard from their superintendent that she intends to make any necessary changes to the current policy to align with the new model policy however we've not seen it added to our current agenda so I'm begging you please replace the current northam policy with the entirety of the youngkin administration revised 2023 model policy on the transgender issues in schools remove all languages encouraging Educators to deceive or hide information from parents make it clear to parents that they're notified given an opportunity to object before counseling regarding gender make it clear schools can't constitutionally compel employees and students um to speak words that violate their faith or their conscience please understand that delayed obedience is in fact Disobedience no amount of student resources uh student resource officers clear backpacks uh metal detectors that's not enough we need to
034return to God and His ways with all of our heart all of our soul and all of our strength the school board you you are in a very unique position to lead this community into the ways of righteousness do not risk further Calamity thank you Darren Pitman Darren Pitman there he is good afternoon afternoon my name is Darren Pitman um I I second her we we are in uh interesting times and and I I know I've spoke this before we have been given a great deal of responsibility you know you're elected by the people many of you and you're expected to serve the people we are asking no we're not even asking any longer we're telling you to serve righteously I understand that we're taking a look at the procedures when it comes to the
035model policy I don't even know if we've even adopted the procedures I don't know if if if if this room here know that you support those the 2023 model model policy before we we actually voted on it we're telling the people that we're waiting on the superintendent I think we're passing the buck it's time to do what is right and stop being intimidated by politicians please adopt the 2023 model policies for the sake of the children Jonathan waldram is it waldrum Waldren okay thank you um if you are here to advocate for the 2023 uh youngkin policies could you stand up for a second thank you um so I'm also here to advocate for the acceptance in its entirety of the 2023 uh model policies and appreciate you taking the time to look at them
036um and to hear that the draft is consistent with them um but what I'd like to know is will the draft uh be available to the public prior to the next school board meeting uh I'd like to know if there'll be any explanation given for where and why the policy Strays from the model policies and I ask that because you say they're consistent but if we're not adopting them in their entirety where does the wording stray so it's it's nice to hear they're consistent but then if they were I would imagine that we'd just be adopting them so uh I have that question uh besides that um I've said before uh at the last meeting you know we definitely want to see um language removed that encourages Educators to uh deceive or hide information from
037parents um we want to make it clear that parents must be notified and given an opportunity to object before counseling uh regarding uh the transgender issue and we want to make it clear that schools cannot constitutionally compel employees or students to speak words um that violate their faith or conscience uh that was that was all I had um and then I am a uh Newport News resident and uh and business owner um forgot to say that beforeand but U that's all I had thank you thank you Sarah Co I'm not sure if there's it's not clear I think this is k n e SS a t y chissa chiss my name is Sarah chissa I am a product of the newport News public school system good evening I wasn't even supposed to be here talking
038but my sister filled out the card because they told her to but I do have to say that we are in favor true we are in favor of Governor youngkin's bill and we are in favor of our children get the best education that they can they're the most important thing that we have on this Earth and they are God's children and they are not to be sold they are not to be treated poorly they need to learn they need their ABCs they need their math and they need their science to learn so that they can grow up to be responsible citizens they are our future thank you thank [Applause] you steping Pucket last name Pucket she split oh she did okay Russell Evanson Russell Evanson [Applause] thank you Newport New School Board Dr Mitchell uh
039thank you for answering the question that you are looking at thank you for your email that let me know that last week that you guys are working on looking at the Revised alls I just have to say second an amen and yes to those other voices that have spoken to you tonight please consider very strongly adopting the 23 2023 policy model in its entirety as it is uh it's kind of like cop copy cut paste and it's pretty simple and uh we just want to encourage you to do that as you well know it is the law now uh as accepted by Virginia Department of Education and our attorney general of the state has said uh not only is it common sense but it's the law so we want to really encourage you guys I
040know you have a tough job I know there's a lot of external voices that pull on all of us both ways and your job is very difficult to try to satisfy and please everybody we understand that uh but please for the sake of our children and our parental rights I don't want to be repetitious of everybody else but please uh support this and uh as it is the model came from uh Governor yonan's office and through the Virginia Department of Education so thank you for doing that and uh I can't help but say this as a pastor we are very much in prayer for you folks we realize uh our community lifts you up in prayer and uh I would like to offer you I told you that we were prayer walking the schools we
041prayer walked Newport News Hampton York County Gloucester uh poquoson Seaford all of the uh excuse me all of the Tidewater or Hampton Road schools in the area we had 50 people show up on that Saturday to do it and I'm so proud of the groups and other churches helped us and join us so all of you have been prayed for all the schools have been prayed for all the teachers admin and students and parents and bus drivers and everybody else that goes with the whole school system has been prayed for and we will will continue to do that and I want to leave with you this is a book that we use called reclaiming a generation by written by a woman is a 21-day prayer guide praying for the whole entire school system so I
042want to just leave this as a gift for you there's 10 copies I didn't see my buddy Miss Buffalo tonight I don't know what's happened she's sick but uh I'll leave it with them whether this gentleman gets one or not that's up to y'all to decide but there are 10 here and I want to give them to you and leave with you thank you so much thank you thank you very much Albert to manello Dr Mitchell and school board thank you and I've changed my comment significantly here and thank you for what you're about to do the only thing I want to say is that I've been a resident of the Peninsula for 45 years obviously I'm a senior citizen and during that time here I've seen and witnessed a near total departure of our
043Christian values and Morays that we grew up with as children so I'm here to urge you to sign the 2023 model policies and thank you for where you are in that process now and to incorporate them as they have been presented to you so thank you very much and with God's help you will succeed as a school board thank you so for this last uh set we'll do um Amanda roselo here she is good evening U my name is Amanda rosow and I'm the co-director of speakup Newport News um even with the previous statements concerning the board upcoming a actions concerning the transgender policy I'd still like to State the following um I stood at this Podium a month ago and asked that this policy the policy jbp be adjusted to align with the revised
0442023 model policies that have been issued by Governor youngkin's education department I here again to reiterate the same I'm not asking for revisions that only reflect parts of the new policy I'm asking that the current policy be updated to reflect Youngkin's policy in their entirety in 2021 the board voted to adopt northam's transgender model policies in their entirety the reason given for this decision included the as the assertion that this board follows the law is law-abiding assuming that this board and current superintendent still hold the same stance logic would dictate the decision to adopt Youngkin's revised policy should not be met with hesitation to reiterate I'm asking you to align the current transgender policies to reflect in its entirety the adjusted policies that have been issued by Governor Youngkin it is time that Newport News
045protect every single child equally and fairly and put parents back in the equation thank you okay we're going to move on to section three uh the consent agenda which includes 3.01 minutes from the closed meeting August 15 20123 3.02 minutes from the regular meeting August 15 202 23 3.03 Financial reports including the revenue reports for June and August of 2023 and the expense reports for June and August of 2023 the Child Nutrition report for June 2023 3.04 the Personnel report 3.05 Newport News school board code of conduct 3.06 budget transfer at this time can we have a motion to approve the consent agenda Madam chair I move to approve the consent agenda as presented okay do I have a second second any discussion uh Madam chair item 3.05 um as we have not reviewed it
046as a board I'd like to um have the board consider removing that item until the board has reviewed it uh and then we can uh vote on it okay I believe we were to have gotten copies of that of the code of conduct um I did see a copy of it and it had today's date so let me just we'll remove it we'll make sure that everyone does have it and we will move it to to next there's no reason that it has to pass this is there a deadline for the code of conduct I don't believe that there is by agreement you're removing that item okay or I can your um Madam chair I can make a motion to amend the main motion if that's I don't I don't think we need to do
047that we'll just remove it and we'll make sure it shows up okay so do I have a second thank you and any further discussion all right please call the rooll best for for Harris for Hunter for Al for for La for motion carries 7 okay thank you the next item on the agenda section four action items on the agenda this even is 4.01 Personnel actions may I have a motion to approve the superintendent's Personnel recommendations Madam chair I move to approve the recommendation of the superintendent for Gracie Aon Hart assistant principal at achievable dream Middle High School and Dr Adria Struthers principal at debigh high school okay do I have a second second second any discussion I got it first please call the roll for Brown for Harris for Hunter alger for Surles Law for
048motion carry 70 great thank you all Dr Mitchell would you please introduce the newest employees thank you so much Madam chair it gives me great pleasure at this time to ask Miss Gracie Aponte-Hart to [Applause] stand I'd like to introduce Miss Gracie Aponte-Hart as the new assistant principal of an achievable dream middle and high school Miss Aponte-Hart has her master of art I mean excuse me master of education degree from Regent University University she has worked as a World Language Lead Teacher at Woodside High School and she previously also worked as a teacher at Woodside and War High School congratulations and if you have someone special with you tonight that you would like to acknowledge this is an appropriate time to do so I have my mother right here hey Mom stand up so good
049to see [Applause] you [Applause] thank you so much and congratulations we're really excited for you next I'd like to introduce Dr Adria Struthers and Dr Adria Struthers has been is um being recommended or has now been approved as the new principal of Denby High School so congratulations Dr Struthers has a doctor of Education degree from Regent University she has worked at War High School since 2002 in the capacity of English teacher and assistant principal she also previously worked at Denby High School and if I'm not correct actually graduated from Denby High School so that's kind of nice that you get to come back full circle to be the Principal so congratulations and if you have someone special with you tonight that you would like to recognize because we know none of us get here by
050ourselves our family has to help us and friends I have my wonderfully supportive husband with me tonight um my dad is here to support me as well our grandbabies my lovely daughter had to walk out for a second and then my beautiful principal award high school is here to support me as well con [Applause] excited well thank you and let us be the first to welcome you thanks for keeping your expertise here with us so we will move on to section five reports and information we have 5.01 our back to school report Dr Mitchell thank you so much this this evening we will have our chief of staff Mr Rashard Wright will come to us to do a back to school report we're excited that we're back in school and he's just going to share
051a little bit of what's been happening since the beginning of school thank you Dr Mitchell and good evening Madam Ser law um Vice chair Dr B school board members and and our community and colleagues our executive team um welcome our students and staff to a new school year our superintendent members of the executive team team visited all schools during the first three days of school this year thanks to our school board members who joined Dr Mitchell and all of our colleagues Newport News welcome 26,000 students to a new school year special thanks to our students at Christopher Newport University Hampton University Chief Drew and the Newport News police department our Army Band mayor Philip Jones Senator Monty Mason delegate Shelley Simons and all those that helped us welcome our staff this was exciting our Newport
052News uh schools and city um School hosted our Huntington Middle School next chapter on September 7th at the site of the future Huntington Middle School our outdoor event commemorated the proud history of Huntington high school and middle school and celebrated the launch of the next chapter which includes the construction of a new 600 student Middle School anticipated to open during the second semester of the 2526 school year event speakers included Newport News uh mayor Philip Jones School Board member um chairwoman s's law Vice chair Dr Bess and this was so special I have to say it warmed everyone's heart Joseph small a seventh grade student at Huntington Middle School sang A rendition of What a Wonderful World and I don't think there was a dry eye under that very hot tent it was amazing Lord
053local and state elected officials Huntington alumni and staff We Appreciate You members of the community all involved it was a great afternoon the next day we were pleased to host Congressman Bobby Scott at booger T Washington Middle School on the eth Congressman Scott took a tour of Booker T Washington where he attended elementary school and he hosted a Roundtable discussion on the rebuild America schools act with area superintendents and also our school board members we thank Congressman Scott for his continued support of Newport News Public Schools South um South board members and the superintendent attended the southeast uh Community Day parade and numerous schools participated in that parade and then the next weekend we also had our demmi day parade um in the northern part of our city the weather held up well for both
054weekends we want to thank our schools K through 12 that participated and many of our Community Partners and business partners and also our city council for being present and supportive we're also happy to share pictures of the newly renovated War High School Governor Health Science Academy Wing in the senior center the governor Health Science Academy prepares students to fill fill the rising demands of the health care industry by combining academic coursework and clinical experiences in the collaborative School environment students in the Health Sciences Academy can earn an industry certification on one of four pathways therapeutic services support services and health informatics diagnostic services and also biotechnology research and development dedicated Labs offer clinical instruction and biomedical exploration and 3D software offer students Anatomy visualization and vertical dissection opportunities we're also very happy to unveil our
055nmps campus for Student Success at the former South morison Elementary School the campus has been renovated and still more renovations to come but right now is to accommodate the student code of conduct and discipline offense and also upcoming short-term suspension program will be rolling out and we also have space for student and family hearings we'll be working very hard in the future we have some plans for new professional development space to accommodate large groups so we're excited about sharing with you those plans in the future 301 I'm say say it again 301 new teachers and Associate teachers and 7 excuse me 379 support staff join nmps this school year team nnps now consists of 5,801 employees dedicated to serving our mission and educa [Applause] students thank you all students in Newport News Public Schools can
056receive a healthy breakfast and lunch for free through our community eligibility provision of the USDA there are a few P pictures here that you can check out from that first week of school we're very proud of this on average our dedicated child Child Nutrition team serves over 13,000 breakfast meals and more than 17,800 lunches each school day our transportation team greets our students each day and ensures that they are safely transported to and from school this year our Transportation team has 209 routes seven fewer than last year thanks to efficient routing we're also continuing our transition to propane buses out of a fleet of 339 buses 141 are propane we are expecting to take delivery of 13 more in October also wanted to share here's some comments from our students families and staff that they
057shared and we want to do bring this to you from the first week of school take a look at the screen fantastic happy outstanding phenomenal smooth fun awesome thoughtful cheerful so we had a great kickoff this school year and at this time I can take any questions that you have and I do have readers now Madam chair I see questions from the board comments from the board and it's been great to see the energy the excitement absolutely um the attention to detail in our schools uh for this year and hats off to our leadership team Dr Mitchell for that thank you all really appreciate it all right if I don't have any others I'm going to move on to 5.02 the membership report 5.0 3 the construction report um board members you've received a copy
058of this report are there any questions okay hearing none we're going to move on to 5.04 comments by the superintendant um Dr Mitchell I do I'm looking to see where my opportunity for the rest of our visitors to get to talk are right it's right after I've Got It reversed oh it's right yep right after okay all right Dr Mitchell it's you thank you madam chair as was shared by board chair Surles Law earlier in the evening I had presented draft procedures regarding the treatment of transgender students to the school board for their input our legal council has affirmed that the draft procedures are consistent with the current Virginia Department of Education model guidelines I expect to finalize the procedures within the next week on behalf of our entire leadership team I thank our students
059families and staff for another successful School opening as you heard during our back to school report we welcomed our students to the new school year with lots of fanfare thanks to Christopher Newport University student athletes the Hampton University band cheerleaders and Greek organizations Chief Drew and members of the police department the Army Band local elected officials and the school board our students families and staff were welcom to high cheers high fives and chance special thanks to all of our teachers our administrators and staff for ensuring that our students had a great first day I am looking forward to a great year of teaching and learning because that's the business that we are in today is National IT professional day which is about our instructional technology staff our professional technology staff supports teaching and learning they
060also maintain our Hardware software networks and student information system and ensure our network security so special thanks to our technology team for all that you do to keep everything running smoothly for our students and staff I also extend my congratulations to the Menchville High School Air Force JROTC on the opening of their center of excellence and I see you can see the pictures on the screen over the summer several Cadets parents and Airmen of the Virginia National Air Guard generously volunteered their time to move uniforms furniture and other equipment into their new space on August 24th they held a ribbon cutting ceremony and offered tours of the center for excellence thank you to you to our student staff and volunteers who helped to make this possible September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage
061Month and the school division is recognizing the achievements and contributions of Hispanic American Champions who have inspired others to achieve success over the next few weeks our schools will be commemorating the observance of special events and activities and we will share some of them on social media High School juniors and seniors and families are invited Ed to a financial aid Workshop we're starting early we know it's September but we need to help our students get the money so financial aid workshops on Wednesday September the 27th at 6 pm at War high school and that is for all students we invite you to attend the workshop to learn more about the free application for federal student aid grants loans and other scholarships for more information visit our website or contact your professional school counselor and finally
062two very quick reminders Friday September 22nd is a half day for all elementary students for teacher planning and on Monday October the 2nd schools are closed for all students for a full day of teacher planning and this concludes my comments for this evening thank you thank you lots going on we appreciate it Madam chair may I ask just a quick question will there be an opportunity for families who who maybe can't make the financial aid Workshop to get the information or yes Absol thank you that's a great question thank you yes okay so we'll move now on to item six I had my numbers out of order it's another opportunity um to hear from the public and I want to make sure that we don't have any additional cards other than the ones I have
063in my hand so we'll move on to ur Ura Hart Ursula Hart hello hello my name is ursul I am a mother of three children that attends school I'm also a Navy veteran I'm here to address safety protocol an adequate amount of staff available after school hours on September 15th 2023 my twin daughter was assaulted she was struck three times she was struck in the face she was struck in the stomach and she also had a water bottle thrown at her the third grader also assaulted me also tried to assault my fifth grade student and he also made a verbal threat that he was going to kill all three of my children School staff members took a incident report but however only notified the student that did the damage to my children when I got
064to the school on um Friday I had to call Newport News police department why because there was no staff member according to the security officers that was available to take my conern or to address the issue when I looked in the window of the school and saw the lady that my son described as the woman that took the report and spoke to the to the third grader um and his parents this is a very serious issue we just had a very serious issue that happened at Richneck Elementary in January my son has been attending the school for 5 years he also was in school that day when the incident happened I don't want to be the next victim okay I need answers and I need clarity I am not going to have this as an
065isolated issue that has been addressed to me by Dr Perry I'm not keeping quiet I need you guys to hear loud and clearly that you have a lot of poor Communications that's being at deliberate between parent and staff you have a lot of lazy staff members okay I was told that someone would talk to me on Monday Monday is was too far in between Monday in between from Friday to Monday you guys want to know what happened inadequate information was distributed amongst staff members Newport News police department and the school board the wrong child was listed as being assaulted they had my son Samuel which is in the fifth grade as being the person that was assaulted when it was a Karden the girl that was assaulted by a third grade white male it seems
066that this child has anger issues okay Behavior like this is caught at home first I don't send my kids to school to be a disturbance to school nor do I send my kids to school to be a punching bag or a victim to be victimized moving forward on Monday so what I am going to to do because this is serious I'm very serious I'm going to ask Mr Wright Chief of Staff to step out with you in the back so that you can share specifically with him the remainder of your concern since your time is up publicly but we really want Mr Wright to be able to and that's what I need I need help getting understanding and resolution to my situation pleas in consideration to what previous members have shared with you from previous
067board members from previous incidents if you guys do not step up and step in more seriousness incidence is going to occur and the blood is going to be on you guys' hands I need action and I need [Applause] Laura Fletcher Laura Fletcher okay great good evening Madame chairman uh members of the board Dr Mitchell my name is Laura Kirk Fletcher I'm a graduate of the newport News public school system I attended sedgefield Elementary Booker T Washington Middle School and Warwick high school I'm here to address Governor Youngkin's transgender policy and speak for the majority of children in our public schools and those coming along behind being set up to experience the denial of their right of conscience and forced to bend to whims of a small and fractured segment of society I'm thankful for my
068brothers and sisters are here but I do have a little bit of I'm a little disappointed in Youngkin's uh approach James Madison considered the right of conscience to be the most sacred of Rights actually the most sacred of property he considered conscience to be property and I take particular issue with the segment of the policy that allows trans children with parental permission to be called by the identity which with they presently identify attorney general marara sent his letter to Governor youngkin providing his advisory opinion for these model policies on ensuring privacy dignity and respect for all students and parents in Virginia's public schools stated that this policy is in accordance with the 14th amendment's equal protection clause and Title 9 I would disagree on a much higher level equal protection should demand the protection of
069a children's of children's right of conscience and provide intense caring intervention for the gender dysphoric child and his or her family love demands more truth trumps tolerance to allow a small segment of society to quash the conscience of the majority is evil the youngkin Administration in fear of legal challenges perhaps and being named as in and worried about being named as intolerance has failed to protect our most vulnerable in his letter Miis references the Virginia Human Rights Act throughout the missive the term Safeguard is used liberally but to not Safeguard the most sacred right of conscience and our children is a crime I urge newport News public schools to draft and even more thorough trans policy than that coming down from Richmond because I feel that parents teachers administrators will be forced to submit their
070conscience to the whims of a family that really needs tremendous intervention so I ask you to consider that I uh people look to Newport News Public Schools other school systems smaller school systems and they want to follow your lead and I'm so thankful for the people that are here that have spoken this is not to hurt a trans child this is about enabling and coddling um gender dysphoria when these people need help they don't need to be elevated we need to protect the majority of these children and not allow their conscience to be fractured in the process of this thank you very much thank [Applause] you think it's never yro yep Yaro okay um Sandra Telo the much much younger wife of the senior citizen I'm a retired guidance counselor math teacher I was was
071in Newport News 35 plus years and I my heart is in the school system I love the school system my heart has been broken by a lot of things that have been going on I think back to when I attended school as a child and a few of you maybe where there were two parents at home and most families a mom and a dad we walked to school we came home in the evening when the lights turned on we were safe we didn't have to worry our neighbors supported us and also tattled on us the adult in Authority was always right even when they were wrong one time my teacher was wrong but according to my parents the teacher was right respect was taught expected demanded and disrespect was not tolerated times have changed in
072many school systems now not I'm not saying Newport News but the trend is the kids come to school first grade and they're taught that they can choose their sex that is ridiculous i t i was a science major too there is absolutely no more prayer in school we had the Lord's Prayer we had the Ten Commandments on the wall and our teachers taught us to go by those think about how it would be today if there was no stealing if people didn't lie bear false witness if they didn't cover covet what their neighbor had so there wouldn't be any theft if they didn't damage injure people no guns no knives you could have a knife a gun it didn't matter because you wouldn't hurt anyone if you love your neighbor as yourself first commandment love
073your lord your God with all your heart and all your mind the second is like unto it love your neighbor as yourself so I think that this policy I was devastated with the last one you know that the school board rejected then Closed meeting accepted and now that's being changed and I thank you for that that that restores my faith I think that's very important and that is a good first step you know because children need to be taught the truth and we need to quit pretending that these ridiculous lies are truths when they're not when we know in our heart they're not true there are not 60 Sexes you know let let's get a grip on that okay so I thank you that you are at least trying to start get a start and
074that's a good first start a better start to continue will be teach the Ten Commandments I mean this is a judeo Christian founded country come on there's nothing wrong with teaching the Ten Commandments and remember what the Lord said Jesus said to his disciples 17 Luke 17:2 it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and were hurled into the sea than for him to cause one of the little ones to stumble when we tell a girl that she maybe is a boy and a masectomy might be a good idea we're harming her and that's where the highest suicide rates are gender dysphoria as a counsel I can tell you that has been dealt with but this this reversal of Mutilation of the body can't thank you thank you Jennifer
075heret Jennifer heret Jennifer heret amen .. lighten it up just a moment here all I needed need to know I learned in kindergarten by Robert fulam share everything play fair don't hit people put things back where you found them clean up your own mess don't take things that aren't yours say you're sorry when you hurt someone wash your hands hands before you eat flush warm cookies and cold milk are good for you live a balanced life learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some take a nap every afternoon when you go out in the world watch out for traffic hold hands and stick together be aware of Wonder remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup the roots go down the Plant goes
076up and nobody really knows how or why but we are all like that goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup they all die so do we everything you need to know is in there somewhere and if and it is still true no matter how old you are when you go out in the world it is best to hold hands and stick together and here we are today I would have added love of God family and Country I also would have changed the cookies and milk part because although they're really good they're not really good for you what what I'm saying is we as a whole as a country as a community we have got truly gotten away from the basics I have two girls and two boys
077in their 20s now and wow did they want their privacy somehow it was okay for them to open my bedroom door without knocking but they only did it once or twice they didn't want to see that again Watch out if someone didn't knock on their door they expected and deserve their privacy my girls would have been mortified if a biological male was in the bathroom at school they weren't even comfortable with their own bodies yet I would expect to have been notified immediately my freedom ends where anothers begins and it goes the same for others for example I would be thrilled if my child came home from school and said that her teacher was talking about the Bible and she wanted to be baptized which is a huge beautiful transition a rebirth many non-believers feel
078that the Bible is a moral compass but although I don't understand it some parents would prefer that their children aren't taught the Bible other parents may not mind if their child is changing for gym with the biological opposite sex but our family would have been extremely upset knowing that consideration of us and others was completely disregarded this was never an issue when I was in school or when my parents were in school and all of our ancestors would be horrified by the battles we fight amongst ourselves today pass youngkin 2023 model policy in its entirety in closing other than what we learned in kindergarten morals and values should be left up to the parents to [Applause] teach Valerie fashion uh good afternoon Dr Mitchell and school board members my name is Valerie fashion and I'm
079an advocate for the children in the Newport News school district I'm going to be changing gears here I would like to congratulate Dr Mitchell on becoming our new new new new news Public School Superintendent I'm sure your tenure will be successful education is the process of acquiring knowledge and information that leads to a successful future and I'm concerned about the lack of information our children are receiving and that's because our classrooms are overcrowded I mean very overcrowded I'm concerned because this district for the past seven years or seven plus years has not been using textbooks for reading spelling science social studies and math why did did this District get rid of his textbooks parents struggle to assist their children in getting a top rated education because zero assignments Reading Writing spelling are being given from
080workbooks and a textbook in the classroom and I like to just share with you a science textbook that my grandson brought home at the end of the year which is a composition notebooks with items that they were posted in the book this is a textbook that newa was using when my my children were in school I come from a family of Educators and the importance of a quality education was instilled in the children in our community I grew up in a segregated school districts and we were given used textbooks from the white schools even though the textbooks were used they provided us with most of the information we needed to become successful our teachers also used their knowledge and experience to supplement our education my questions to you are how many of you attended schools
081in the districts that were using textbooks instead of copies of papers from the internet how many of you attended schools in a district that did not use any textbook ... is a school district practice using this practice how many of you attended a school in a district that gave you spelling words every week to study and gave you a spelling test every Friday how many many of you have taken a spelling test without being given the words to study newport news elementary schools are using this prce the kids the P they never see the words but the word comes across a computer screen and they're expected to recognize the words how many of you attended schools in a district that told you it was okay for you not to spell your words correctly I have
082a problem with that they cannot go anywhere in this world and misspell these words simple words was cause this simple thing things when was the last time new new schools participated in a local National Spelling bee everyone on this school board is an elected official and it is your ... duty to make sure all of our students attend a newport news public schools receive a top rated education they need to know the basics reading spelling maths science writing history they even need to learn how to write their names are cursive [Applause] [Music] all right great I'd like to thank you for your time thank you for your [Applause] time last card I have is for Mary Voss and she is not here so we'll move on to the last portion of our agenda and for
083time's sake um the focus of our school board is on students teachers and students and the education so tonight we are just going to hear from our student representative and then we will adjourn our meeting thank you so I just wanted to say that the student Advisory Group on education applications are due to September 26 oh okay the um the student Advisory Group on education application due September 26 it is a um we meet every month and it's where high school students mainly from 9th to 12th grade provide information to the school division super superintendent Dr Mitchell education initiatives from a student perspective members of the committee meet monthly with the super attendent oh yeah and provide input on important educational issues and also participate and Citywide SCA and normally the meetings are from every
084Wednesday of each uh one Wednesday of each month from 3:00 to 4:30 and application you should get your application from the student support specialist at your uh res at your high school and it should be submitted by Tu uh by Tuesday September 26 so thank you thank you so that special date is Tuesday September 26 of the due date yes I have one more thing to add uh the application requires uh students to answer two questions the questions are what do you like most about your school and if you were the principal what one change would make you to will make you to enhance the high school experience and why and it should be uh typed and I think printed out and given to the student support specialist great thank you so much Aaron so
085with that thank you teachers and staff for engaging your hearts with our students meeting [Music] adjourned [Music]