Watch the Charles County Board of Education’s February 13, 2024 meeting. The meeting featured reports on the school calendar for the 2024-25 school year, private partnerships, potential legislation being proposed during the 2024 Maryland General Assembly, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and the naming of Charles County Public Schools next elementary school. 9 students and staff members were recognized from North Point High School, Mattawoman Middle School, the Phoenix International School for the Arts and Mary B. Neal, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Walter J. Mitchell and William B. Wade elementary schools.
0:00 start
0:41 Superintendent’s update
6:41 EACC update
11:08 AFSCME update
15:00 School calendar update
50:31 Public private partnerships
1:33:21 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future
2:02:48 Legislative update
2:13:09 Board policy review process
2:23:06 World Down Syndrome Day
2:25:52 ES 23 naming update
2:37:46 Fine and Performing Arts resolution
2:40:55 Read Across Charles County resolution
2:43:52 Women’s History Month
2:47:16 Student recognition
3:39:58 Staff recognition
4:36:45 Public forum
4:49:07 Unfinished business
5:08:30 New business
5:08:37 Future agenda items
5:10:42 Board correspondence
5:44:24 Action items
5:54:47 Discussion on eligibility policy
7:09:59 Public private partnership proposal
7:18:52 Adjournment
Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. All right. Today is February 13th, and welcome to the February board meeting for the Charles County Board of Education. You please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands.
One nation under God, indivisible. With liberty and justice for all. Thank you, everyone. And we will now go to the superintendents, update to the board. Good afternoon, Chairperson Moore Lee. Vice Chairperson Kramer, Board member of staff and those here in person and our viewers and our viewers following our board meeting online today.
Today’s meeting agenda is full of information, informative presentations on items from the school calendar and status of the blueprint for Maryland’s future implementation to an update about public and private partnerships to progress made by the school naming committee. The board is also set to act on proposed changes to the eligibility policy
And the fiscal year 2025 proposed operating budget. Please continue to follow today’s meeting or catch the recording to be posted on our YouTube page. Last week, the board held a town hall at Saint Charles High School on the topic of school meals. Thank you to our community members
Who came with questions and provided feedback, as well as those who watched the livestream. The presentation shared by our Food and Nutrition Services staff was informative and provides an overview of guidelines in place. The Charles County Public Schools must follow regarding nutritional value of food, serving sizes and what constitutes
A reimbursable meal with state and federal funding. Thank you to Karen Acton, Bill Crowder and Krystal Richardson for sharing the presentation and answering questions. Our Food and Nutrition Services staff are they are a dedicated workforce committed to ensuring children are fed at school each day.
If you missed the town hall, please visit our YouTube page or find it in our school system website. I also want to give a special shout out and thanks to all of our students, staff and a few board members, I think Mr. Lucas for sure that who joined the polar bear plunge
On February 1st in support of Special Olympics. Maryland. Across Maryland, participating school systems collectively earned nearly $900,000 in donations for this event. For those of you not familiar with the event, people pledge donations in support of Special Olympics Maryland. That ends with a plunge into the freezing cold Chesapeake Bay.
Check out the featured video on our website of students and staff participating in this year’s plunge. I am excited to learn about this event firsthand in 2025 when I plan to take the plunge myself. boy. We will see if other board members join me.
And as we move forward, please don’t record me. No. Charles County Public Schools continues to celebrate Black History Month throughout February with school events from wax museums and exposed to gasp seekers coming to talk with students about the importance of celebrating black history. I invite the community to join Charles County Public Schools
And the Bell Alton High School Alumni Association for a panel discussion on Tuesday, February 20th at Saint Charles High School. The event is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and will feature panelists who were students or teachers during the integration era of schools in Charles County. Jean Mills, Robert Martin and Cora marshall
Are slated to be panelist with I Said the Leonard, a la Plata High School junior, facilitating the discussion. Matthew Wills, chairman of the Bell Alton High School Alumni Association, will deliver special remarks prior to the start of the panel discussion. If you’re not able to attend in person,
You can watch the livestream on our website and or afterwards to catch the full recording. And I also just want to say kudos to students who we have aligned this opportunity to their curriculum. And so we’ll also have students who have, as part of their homework, to listen and be part
Of this event and reflect on it in what they are studying in their specific courses. So kudos to our social studies department for incorporating this into student learning. Next Thursday, February 22nd, Charles County Public Schools will recognize Teacher of the Year nominees and announce the 2024 Charles County Teacher of the Year.
The County Teacher of the Year finalist represents Charles County in the Maryland Teacher of the Year Awards program. Follow our websites and social media pages on Facebook, Instagram and X for announcements on the Teacher of the Year and all nominees. The school system will also recognize bus drivers
In attendance on February 22nd in recognition of national school bus driver and attendant appreciation Day. These dedicated individuals oversee the safe and reliable transportation of more than 23,000 students to and from school every day. The Charles County Public Schools Transportation Department, in collaboration with the Charles County Bus contractors,
Are hosting a recognition cookout celebration on February 22nd at the Laurel Springs Park for all bus drivers in attendance On behalf of the school system, I thank each bus driver in attendance for their commitment to the safety of all our students as we move into second semester of the school year.
I continued to urge all of our parents to stay active in their child’s education from checking grades and parent view to connecting with a teacher if you have concerns or not. Parental engagement is a key to academic and personal success for every child. Please look for any volunteer or after school activities
Hosted by your child’s school in which you can expand your involvement. And we always have more information about volunteer opportunities at all of our schools on our CBOE website. I thank all school system stakeholders for their continued support for Charles County Public Schools. Thank you. Dr. Navarra.
Next up, we will hear from Mr. Sean Hale from the SCC. Good afternoon. Chairperson Mallie. Vice Chairperson, Ms.. Kramer, My Board of Education, Dr. Navarro, staff and guests. Good afternoon. I’d like to address an issue that this board has been discussing academic eligibility. Of the members who responded to an FCC survey
Sent out on this topic. The responses were split down the middle on changing the requirements. I have been visiting schools and discussing the eligibility proposal and I thought I would share what I heard from employees to include in your consideration about extracurricular activity requirements. Some members are concerned in this era of rigor
And academic concerns that lowering the standards of eligibility is counterintuitive. They’re worried about the message that quote unquote, lowering the standards sets for the system. As we can all agree that academics come first. And members feel like any standard that is not as high as it
Currently is now will go against that philosophy. There are also just as many members that see a benefit to opening extra curricular activities to more students. They believe that by participating in school events there would be a positive impact on grades. A greater identity with their school
And a more positive climate for students. They also see extra curricular activities as a way to have students strive to accomplish goals and develop areas of interest. There were consistent themes when I added perspectives that the board had at the last meeting.
When I pointed out that we were in the top three counties for the most stringent regulations and extra curricular activities. The opinion did not seem to change. However, when I pointed out that when Ms.. Michie Thomas stated at the last meeting that our standards are tougher than the NCAA.
Several members were moved by that statistic. I had a member say that we were ranked 15th in the state based on academics, according to one source, and they were concerned about us going lower. And I point out that if the other two counties that are tougher than us were
Ahead of us, that still meant there were 12 schools ahead of us that have a different requirement than we have several staff members removed. When I pointed out, as was presented at the last board meeting, that this current policy could be seen as a disadvantage for at least two different
Populations, special ed and early and the small sample of feedback each EAC obtained. I’m not able to take an official position on this topic because views are divided in the data that I have. I would say, however, that should this body decide to change the eligibility requirements,
The staff in public schools should be educated on the exact reasons for the change, so they may be better understand the rationale of that decision. The bottom line, like the board at the beginning of the eligibility discussion, educators have varied opinions but are still working to understand the nuances
Of the current policy and its impact on students. ICC urges the board to review the data that was presented to you by CCP leadership about the current policy and its impact on student access to extracurricular activities. Remember that our current level has our current policy has three levels of qualifications
That could be seen as creating a barrier for some populations of students. We urge you to put a policy in place that considers the needs of the whole child when making your decision. Something that he is concerned about is the potential for increased workload, specifically in this area as discussed by the board.
Some of the ideas the board discussed involved extra tutoring from staff. There were also discussions about layers of checking and monitoring by coaches and sponsors. As a rule, most sponsors and coaches do encourage their students to do their best and work hard at their academics. Adding additional requirements
For tracking data attendance at tutoring sessions, etc. would make it a sponsor’s responsibility to make sure the students take advantage of opportunities and improve, not the student’s responsibility. ICC believes there are enough current options and opportunities for all students to improve their grades and adding another layer as we go through this teacher
Shortage will continue to burnout. An already overworked teacher force. Currently, an extra pay for extra duty committee has been reviewing our current positions in the contract. The process around extra pay for extra duty and the number of positions that have been done in recent years that are not included
For compensation in the current contract. We hope to have recommendations before the end of this school year as we consider how to include more students in extra curricular activities. You also need to consider what will keep our staff sponsoring these activities. I can tell you that there will be an increase
In positions and there should be an increase in payment for those positions. Each ICC will continue to work with KPS and this board to create an extra pay for extra duty system. That makes sense is in the best interest of our students and staff that support them. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Hale.
I ask me, is Sarah Birch. Good afternoon and welcome everyone. I am Sarah Birch, President of S May Local 2981. Wow. January and the first week of everyone. I have been busy for like 29 eight What negotiations s me business is meeting town hall at St Charles, answering emails, speaking
To four support staff, attending two meetings with human resources and two support staff. I am so proud of s me Local 2981 Committee for negotiations this year year lot Christian Yelland, Curtis Earl Swan. Stephen Washington. Stephen Flynn. Here I am I made up they committee and our business meeting February 6th
I announced we are going to be going over FS Mae’s procedures for elections and ratification of the contract at the March meeting. I really would love a good turnout with so many new members. I want everyone to understand the rules. This meeting will be on March 5th from 430 to 5:30 p.m.
They were and will be held in May or June or as soon as the Charles County commissioners fully fund the budget. There will be a meeting at the Charles County Government Building in April or May. I will need all of s meeting members to sign up and talk.
And this is a very important that this meeting is well attended. The exact date and time will be sent out to all members members, the town hall at the St Charles High School. What’s close to my heart? Kristen Richardson and William Krueger did a marvelous presentation on food and nutrition services.
I have worked for food and nutrition services for 27 of the 27 years I have been here, and each year there are changes, new regulations, new programs. So much information tonight. Great job, Bill and Crystal. Have a great family time. Stay and I’ll see you in March.
People are places that we will have to. Keep a school calendar 2526. Good afternoon, Chairperson E, Vice Chairperson. Ms.. Kramer. Board members. Dr. Navarro, Staff. Dr. Gill and I are here today to talk about one of our favorite topics calendar. So the calendar that we are here to talk with you
About is the 2025 2026 school calendar. This board has already approved the school calendar for next year, school year 2024, 2025. There states already published on our website at kbhome.com. But before Dr. Jill and I reconvene our calendar committee of stakeholders to talk about options for the 2526 school year calendar.
We thought we would come before the board and share some parameters, some information for consideration, and get some feedback for you all before we presume that work. So some parameters to consider under state law school must be in session in Maryland for a minimum of 180 days per year for students.
State regulations do outline a waiver process regarding the length of the school year, the waiver process for the 180 day attendance rule includes a review of inclement weather days that are included in the calendar. And if the system has used those dates prior to requesting a waiver,
That law also indicates that each local Board of Education can set the start and end dates of the school year. The contract to negotiate an agreement outlines 190 contracted work days for teachers that also includes ten early dismissal teacher planning days and early dismissal days that are built in
For report card prep grade prep. The Ask Me negotiated agreement for support staff includes 15 holidays. So some of the holidays that are directed by state law are as follows. We must not have school in session for Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and from Christmas through new year’s Day.
Dr. Martin Luther King jr. Birthday presidents Day. The friday before Easter is a state holiday and from then through the monday after Easter. So the friday before Easter, the Monday after Easter, those are mandated holidays. Memorial Day is a mandated holiday and primary in general, Election Day are school holidays.
It says for school based staff and students. That’s because many of our schools are used as election sites. So that would be a holiday, inclement weather. So the state does have some legal language around virtual instruction. We must publish in our calendar the inclement weather days.
That’s a rule from the State Board of Education. We have to show that in the calendar, as far as virtual instruction was a big which was a big topic a year ago, Senate Bill 610 does, which is new, I think in the last year, states that starting with this next school year,
There are some changes to virtual instruction. Under that Senate bill, a school board may authorize the use of virtual instruction in the case of severe weather conditions. However, in order to make that happen, a county school board must discuss that at an open meeting. They must vote on that and publish
The county’s plan for virtual education on the website. So the Senate bill states that the decision to have virtual instruction is a board function. The in that Senate bill, The county superintendent may also decide to provide a day of virtual education only if we have used all of our inclement weather days.
So you have a blizzard. We have we use up all of our snow days then that there can be a day of virtual instruction, a fact to the calendar committee. So we have a calendar committee that includes representatives from our negotiated excuse me, our union members, parents, students, instructional staff and support staff.
And typically this committee develops two or three draft calendars. The drafts are reviewed by the committee. Those drafts are then taken to the senior leadership team discussion with the superintendent, and then any approved drafts are brought here to the board for review and consideration.
Typically, in prior year, staff have managed a calendar survey to collect community feedback and input on the calendar. Process, which we would still be willing to do if the board directed. So that brings us to our purpose for being here today. We have not convened a calendar committee yet,
But before we do and share with them our charge, we wanted to be able to provide for them whatever priorities the board has or there are certain things that the board desires that that calendar committee consider so that we’re working within the parameters established by you. We can use those to make decisions
And draft some calendar models to share back with you. But we don’t want to be working down a road that that’s not something that reflects your priorities. Yes. Ladies, thank you very much. All right. I’ll open up for any questions or comments. SMITH And then Mr. Hancock.
So one, thank you for coming before us and sort of getting us started on this early path, focusing on next year’s school calendar. Just curious, have we I know in years past we have looked at spring break and trying to align it with some of our sister counties.
Given that we have students and families who have relatives in two places and wanting to coordinate trips, is that something that the committee is also continuing to consider? We can. I think that’s something that we considered last year for next year’s school calendar.
We needed to look at a variety of neighboring counties, right? So we have Prince Georges to the north, we have Calvert, we have Saint Mary’s, and we have King George. And that’s, I guess, the contiguous counties around us. So I don’t know, next or the 25, 26 school year
If they all have the same spring break. But if that’s a desire of the board, we can certainly do that. And I can talk to my colleagues offline and see if there’s any interest. I was just curious if that was something you are already considering. Just a quick follow up question.
I do recall last year we worked on the next year’s calendar. I know we’re always off by a year, which I sort of have that forward planning. We did send the survey out to committee members just inquiring about the length of spring break.
I’ve heard from some families that a good deal of families, but some families that they do appreciate having a longer spring break. But I wasn’t certain sort of where our survey data sort of landed us. I know there was some back and forth about that, if you all recall.
Would you mind speaking to that a bit? So I can’t recall specifically data related to spring break. I feel like I recall more so some community support in favor of a longer winter break, which, you know, you’re taking those days from somewhere, right? You have 180 instructional days.
If we extended spring break in the calendar by three student days, three teacher days, we would have to put those three days for students to come in. Those three contracted teacher work days somewhere in the calendar. Right. So typically that would be in June.
And I misspoke. I’m sorry. It is winter break. You’re right. Okay. Yeah, that’s I can’t remember percentage year. Right. But I do recall seeing a lot of that feedback about looking to expand winter break. I do recall seeing some of that feedback online this year
In relation to the winter break that was built in the calendar. But then I feel like in June, if our school year is extended, you tend to see some feedback from the community about, you know, students going into mid-June and what are they learning the last couple of days
And it’s time for summer break. So I anticipate maybe some of those conversations to pop up again. But it is certainly a question that we would include in a calendar survey for sure. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hancock. And then. Ms.. CRAMER Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the presentation.
I just have a couple of thoughts. I know the calendar that we voted on and approved for this coming year. We had to go back and make some changes on with the start date, correct. And just as it is, it appears that that’s just not a feasible plan,
I guess, going forward to have that extreme early start date. And also just talking with some community members recently that are that are actually looking because it’s still in the calendar of this coming year, start date is still on the calendar and have asked about why are we going back so early?
And I told them it’s been changed, but it seems like that’s an unpopular opinion and it affects a lot of things in house. So and then my only other personal advice would be, you know, the surveys that were taken were taken, you know, just over a year ago.
So a lot of that information is probably still reflective of of what members of the community would like, which would probably give you a pretty good idea of where to start. And of course, obviously doing another never hurts to do another one. So that’s it. Thank you. Thank you. Ms.. Cramer.
Thank you, Chairwoman Burley. And thank you, Ms.. Mackey and Dr. Gill, for coming. This is one of my favorite conversations, and I’m not being facetious by saying that. So I do appreciate all the the work that I know goes into this. And I know that just for the benefit of the public,
They may not realize that calendar conversations start this early. Right. And so it is difficult sometimes to make decisions because we don’t know like what may be going on during that time that may cause members of the public to feel like, well, I wish we had, you know, got out earlier.
I wish we had a longer break for this or that. So we’re just trying to make the best decision possible, you know, for everyone, staff included, to just want to, you know, to kind of put that out there. But I have a couple of points. So to Mr. Hancock’s point,
Definitely we don’t think that there should be an option for a much earlier start date given the feedback and all the things that we had to do last year. So I just wanted to second that point. It seemed like when we had some deliberation about it, even when we were
Discussing it as a board and we discussed the 2425 calendar pretty extensively. So I just don’t even think that’s an option. So at this point, you know, from members of the public, looks like our start date is going to pretty much remain the same going forward, it looks like,
Because when we tried that option that just was not popular and really not feasible. So I just wanted to emphasize that I do know two things that we talked about. I think and had consensus on as a board was Veterans Day and election days being closed for staff and students
So that, you know, our staff who are veterans can obviously take the day off and be acknowledged and then for Election Day so that they don’t have staff, does not have to work so that they have the day free to be able to vote and exercised,
You know, their their right to do that. So I know that that’s something that I think the board had consensus on. If I’m incorrect, somebody raise your hand. But I’m pretty sure. So just wanted to kind of reminds of that and see see, I know you know has brought up some yes.
Mr. Hile in the back some concerns about maybe having some additional time for educators to be able to plan. So looking at additional days for either to our early dismissals or even perhaps a two hour delay, which I know that traditionally, as long as I’ve been here,
We haven’t really used the two hour delay unless in the event of inclement weather. So, Dr. Navarro, did you have something to add on that. I just wanted to clarify. So you mentioned additional days versus days staggered throughout the year. So just as a reminder for the board,
The contract is for 190 teaching days how we and I think you I just want to clarify to make sure that what you meant was maybe how we sprinkle those or if it’s adding more days to the teacher contract that will have a fiscal note
So that there can be a request from the board to look at that. I will just tell staff that if you bring a calendar forward that you need to bring a fiscal note along with that. Sorry. Yeah. No. Just. Yeah. Hold out. Yeah. Thank you. You let me know which consideration.
You’re right in fact. And appreciate probably. And that may be a wrong choice of words additional days because I was looking at the ten days that you indicate in your presentation, Dr. Gill. And is that typical of what we have on average for every calendar?
Is it typically ten to our early dismissal days? We typically have more than ten, it’s ten and then report card. Report card prep. Okay. And so when we talk about community feedback, sorry, Shawn, we also hear from parents another two hour early dismissal. what are they doing? Yeah.
And so, you know, maybe that’s something we need to communicate, but. Yeah, yeah, understood. If we could come up with some additional. Yeah. Just wanted to throw that out there and I don’t know, I can’t speak for Mr. Hile on that point if he was asking for or you know,
If what the educators desire is, is to add additional days or if maybe spreading them out would be more I guess add some additional conversation as we may need to have. You know, that spreading them out would be helpful because I do know there are periods of time where it will go,
Will have like two and one month, and then we’ll go for like weeks where we don’t have one. And I know that last year we looked at a calendar option that had several, and I think you were intentional about having like a lot of three day weekends
With a two hour early dismissal on a Friday. But I don’t think that’s the calendar that we ended up with. So I just wanted to put that out there. And if we could, you know, look at some additional options to either spread them out, you know, to make it just a little bit
Easier for our educators and maybe to provide some of that time that they’re looking for. So just want to wanted to to say that. And then lastly, with the survey, I do agree with Mr. Hancock that perhaps hasn’t changed much, but I think I would
Probably lean towards doing another one just to be sure. We do have new, you know, students that come in. You know, and new families that come into the system. So just definitely want to make sure we give them all the opportunity to have their voices heard.
And they may not have been here last year or we did hear, of course, after the fact that some didn’t know there was a survey, They didn’t have an opportunity to provide feedback. Hopefully, we can make sure that we get more, you know, feedback this year.
So that’s all I have. Thank you so much. Thank you. Ms.. Kramer Any other. Mr. LUCAS. All right. Thank you, Ms.. Morley. Thanks for the presentation. So I just want to make sure the calendar for the next school year 2425. What is our start date? There is. All nine.
It is. August 19th, the. Early the early start date that. Ms.. Kramer No, that’s the later start date later on. Postponed it a week. Yeah. Yeah, it’s the last Monday in August. Yeah. I’m sorry. I meant for four students. I think it’s 26. Should specify that. That that’s what I meant.
Unfortunately, the document that we swear by, we tell parents, get that calendar the first week of school. We have plenty of copies. You all got another copy today that was printed. So that comes out of the communications department. We send that to print typically at the end of July
Because it takes our vendor three weeks to get it printed, checked, delivered to our schools. Right. So that information about the earlier start time frame is in that document. We’ve updated it online. I just made a comment to the communications team yesterday that even though it’s February,
We’re talking about calendar, we need to begin to really promote and push out reminders to the community about, hey, the start date for next year. We know we’re still in February, March-April, but next school year that there was a change to please note it in your calendar.
That’s an effort that we will undertake. But the cost to reproduce that product is right. So understood. And then in there that we have two weeks around Christmas time, correct? I think it’s still a week and a half. The next year for next year, I think we come back on a Thursday.
I look in the board box and what we approved in maybe. So if you go on our website under the about tab, there’s a calendar tab. If you click on that, there’s an at a glance document that has both bullet point dates as well as a PDF of the month
View. Right, the 12 month view. I believe that we are close for a week and a half. I think we come back on a Thursday. Is that January 2nd. Thursday, January. Second? I believe it is. I think the community I don’t have the numbers as I don’t have a pie chart
And I don’t know how they would answer to a question. But generally the feedback that we hear is that people want and I’ve said this before, people want to come back later, they want a long Thanksgiving break, they want a long winter break, they want a long spring break.
They want all the breaks. They want to get out. But we want to get out early and we don’t want to start two. Hundred and 80 days of school and with those careers and not come Saturday and Sunday. So I don’t know why. I don’t want to send my.
Kids Saturdays. Yeah, that’s right. So I mean, that seems to be the perspective is I want to not have to go as much. I’m sure you. Keep in mind too, but I want my time break that you length and right. I explained this a few minutes ago.
If we were to look at expanding those breaks, any days that you take off and close for, you have to add somewhere, right, for students and for the teacher contract. So you either have to go back earlier in August or go later in June. Yeah. With that unpredictability.
And that’s the that’s the mathematical. Part of it. That’s as much, Cramer said. We had a lot of conversation. We had a fourth option to the calendars, try to meld in what each of his other three had. The only thing I would add is, as I think and this has been talked
For by some other board members and it’s implemented in other counties, I think having a a true asynchronous day that’s, you know, on the calendar and plan. So it’s not a shock to everybody. And I think that will serve a purpose of providing, you know, that kind of built in mental health
Break for for staff and for students, too. And when it’s planned, then there’s no surprises about it happening. And, you know, the work can be prepared. So that will be my my last comment there. Thanks. Thank you. Miss the miss about the Washington and then Miss Amelia Thomas.
Hello and thank you for your report. I know Mr. Hancock and Miss Cramer stated about the August calendar coming, but I talked to a lot of parents too, and they like the come because they want to get off early. So I would just ask if you when you bring the calendars
That you say you’re going to bring three or four. That you do include one. So, you know, we are entertaining everybody’s options of how they do the calendars, because if we just bring one, that means that the people I heard from, I didn’t speak up and say anything.
So I just want to make sure that we are fair across the board with it and then we should be good. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Thomas. Thank you so much. I did want to bring up from Mr. look at this point. About the asynchronous days.
I know that’s kind of a you know, if we have a snow or something like that to just, you know, say instead of being off or have asynchronous, it requires planning. So I would like us to at least evaluate what is a pilot of that look like so
That it can be invoked if we need to. And that would then give us a little more flexibility. And if we have too many snow days that we wouldn’t have to go over because we have to compensate for days that we have to use. I mean, I really would like God
To send us more snow because I like snow, but I know it becomes a nightmare when you’re trying to move children around. Right. Safely. But at least would like us to consider that. So it it doesn’t have to be snow. I mean, a couple of years ago, I remember
We hurricane season or something, we had to, you know, shut down. So the ability for if we did asynchronous and we were to say we see inclement weather coming, we’re going to do asynchronous, I do recognize that that is a challenge for some students
Who may be in a high desert and they may not be prepared. But I think if if we work that out, that may also give us some other flexibility and just, you know, forethought and planning about how we can incorporate that to have more days. Sure. Sure.
Okay. Dr. Navarro, I’d like to weigh in on. So can we go back to the slide of how the state changed our ability to do exactly what Mr. Lucas and Ms.. Thomas is talking about. I just want to queue up. So there were some changes.
MSD went back a little bit and took our flexibility away. I will tell you that Pasm our superintendents organization and I think maybe may, may, may want to push back a little bit on that flexibility that was taken away. But what is now from the state and they may come back with revisions
Because I think all of us have said hold on a second. What they said was that we have to use up up to four snow days before we can schedule a synchronous day, I believe. So that really shoots us. If you think that the snow comes sometime in February
And no, in January, February and March, one of the concerns there that we voiced and superintendents, depending on where you are in this region, is that that really suits us for a scheduled synchronous or a synchronous day into warmer months because would have to build in our days and we have spring break.
So we have big chunks of time. So I think we hear from the board this interest. There’s clearly no question that there’s an interest in how we build it, where staff puts it in knowing our weather patterns and having built in four days and then, you know, the data around a longer holiday
Because I did hear like winter break is always a plus for people to be able to go away for two weeks or something. I got plenty of emails like, why don’t we shut down tomorrow so we can, you know? But I do think it’ll be interesting. Now, it could change because again,
The superintendents complain quite a bit of this and my colleagues that are more towards the north and the west of the county wanted that flexibility and built it and it makes sense for them. And I think they have some data around how it worked for them. You know, so I think that’s important.
So this might change, but let’s keep our ears as we build this calendar and look at our options based on the change that the state made with sort of tying a little bit of our hands around. Thank you. If I could weigh in and circle back.
I have heard a lot of input as well. And one of the things I hear most often from teachers is they want regular breaks. They want something every month, just whatever you want to call it, additional time, mental health days, just mini breaks, I think, kind of helps with them.
And candidly, I’m sure the students as well to be able to get through year because there are there have been in the past long periods where there was nothing, there was no holiday. It was, you know, every blue moon, there’d be a two hour break.
So that is something I absolutely be in favor of. I understand that. To Navarro’s previous concerns about the equity, particularly for the elementary school students around the asynchronous days, I’m a very big advocate for them. I know that it’ll be easier to implement at the middle school and high school level.
I understand that. But our previous student member mirror, that was one of the key pieces of her platform based heavily on student feedback. So that is something I understand. If I’m hearing Dr. Navarro correctly, we must first use the for virtual instruction days in the calendar
Based on inclement weather, and then we can consider asynchronous. So I understand that, and maybe that’s something to consider in the future. You know, don’t don’t first me students, but maybe instead of closing all together, you know, we can, you know, reconsider asynchronous and then that will free of some other days
Maybe when we really get into you know March April, May when people are absolutely burned out, then we might be able to have them do some some asynchronous days. I also support my colleague said about surveying again, just for many reasons. As Miss Cramer said, people that are new, people
That didn’t get an opportunity to respond, people that never seem to know that we’re doing a survey, I think we just inundate them with it. So everyone who wants to respond and I would welcome student input as well. Yeah, Yeah. And I think I just candidly, given all of the parameters, as Dr.
Gale mentioned, are 25, 26 calendars pregnant, look a lot like the 2425 calendar as there’s only about so much room. I still hear from people that are upset that we don’t start after Labor Day. I understand that I get it. But then are you willing to go later in June?
And very often the answer is no, you know. Right, exactly. And, you know, as a son, you know, I have a son that has a birthday in June. He’s like, absolutely not. There should be no school after June 7th. Well, sorry, son. You know, everybody has their own
You know, their own wish list. But I support what Ms.. Kramer said. Absolutely. Day should remain a holiday for everyone, so I would support that as well. Of course, election days also. And I think also we need to have more of these conversations. Maybe,
However, we best can get the information out to the public so they can understand the why, they can understand the 180 days we take for granted that they know, but many may not, that we are bound by 180 days for students, 29 days for staff.
And if we want regular breaks and a long winter break and a long Thanksgiving break, etc., etc., these are the boundaries. And so they candidly have to kind of pick your favorite child, right? You can’t have everything. So that would be I think those are all of my points.
Yes. Okay. So we can circle back. We’re supposed to finish this in about 5 minutes. So if any colleagues, any final thoughts, if we could? And I think, Ms.. Bello, actually, did you have your hand as well? Now you do. Okay, Go ahead. Ms.. Kramer. Thank you.
Thank you. Chairwoman Morley and I will be quick. I just wanted to clarify and I had a clarifying question for Dr. Navarro. So am I interrupting this correctly that with the four days that are required currently to build for inclement weather, would those. So that would not include
Like when we add the days on to the end of the year or that does include that. Okay. Yes. Okay. Yes. So every school system, every school system can have as many inclement weather days as they want. Those four days have to be built into the calendar before. So if we added five,
But we don’t really add more than four, right. Based on our we would have to build those first and then it would have to be any additional days after that would have to be synchronous. So Mr. Lyons just corrected me that it’s not asynchronous or synchronous. The this is that’s right. That’s
Why I said the state went even tighter on the flexibility. Districts and. Said no, asynchronous, only synchronous. If you go on day five or six or whatever else you built into your calendar. So. Okay. And then one additional question for clarification. So say in recent years,
We haven’t really we haven’t used snow days like last year we didn’t use any. So if we don’t use any snow days, then that is not an option to use a sync to have a synchronous day. Is that correct? Correct. According to my current not legal professional reading of the law. Yeah.
Mr. Swartz, he’s. I’m getting a nod from Mr. Schwartz. Okay. Currently written questions are short. Okay, so say user. Asynchronous, where people do it in their free time at midnight, you log on, you do a little bit is not an option. According to my reading synchronous means,
Everybody turns tunes in at the same time and talks to their teacher through the screen at the same time. Right. But my question is and thank you for that point. The difference. So yes, I do see it read synchronous. So understood that. But if we don’t use any snow
Days, then we would not have an option to even invoke synchronous either. Is that correct? My absence. Okay for that clarified. Okay. Yeah. Because I was just I mean, to your point, the neighbors to the north, right, they probably use four and plus days often.
But we I know last year, like I said, we didn’t use any of our days. And, you know, knock on wood, we’ve only used one two this year. So it’s rare that in this area of the state that we use that many. So this may not the way the law is currently written.
It may knock us out from being able to use synchronous at all. So I just want to clarify that for everyone. And I don’t think it’s a law. I think it’s Maryland. Or I’m sorry, Mrs.. Regulation the regular. Okay. So there’s a lot of talk about that because it just.
Right, a. Lot of flexibility. Sorry. Ms.. Mackey, you want to in the state regulations regarding a waiver to the 180 day attendance rule does outline a minimum of three inclement weather days up to ten. So there has been calendars where we have built in six inclement weather days.
Maybe we use three or four. You’re correct. Last year we did not use any inclement weather days. And you know, we’re already in February and we’ve already used two when we have the two left. So our models typically include for one year, I think we were a little conservative and put in.
I think six is the maximum, maybe one year we put in three right. Okay. Well, thank you for that. And I think that’s an important clarification, not only for the board for us to understand, but for the public as well. We can’t just add asynchronous days.
Even the way that this regulation is written, because we would have that would require us to have for snow day or inclement weather days that we used first. And so that I see what you’re saying that’s in a bar that really restricts us as a school system to be.
So keep us posted on that if that does change. Thank you. Mr. Lucas, if you have another point. On my same question, but I want to make sure I understand. So you are you saying, Dr. Navarre, that you have to build in snow days? Yes. Inclement weather days.
Yeah. That’s why everybody’s up in arms right now. You have to. And by building them in, is it the difference between are you do you have to plan for them during the year or do you just say, well, we’re going to
We’re going to carve out a week at the end of the school year, whatever time frame you, you say, is it either or. So our calendar right now for the current school year, those four days are built in already into June. So say we don’t use those two remaining days
That we have in April. May we as a system will begin to communicate, Hey, there’s two snow days left. We’re going to back that calendar up by two days. So the student last day would come back by two teachers. Last day would come back by two. That’s typically how we’ve managed it,
I believe, for the 2024 25 calendar. When we brought models to the board, we didn’t necessarily outline the days, but they are on the information that’s on the website they are outlined. And I think there’s three at this point, maybe four, that do indicate inclement weather makeup day because the state does require
That we identify those days within our calendar. Sure. I mean, the way the way this is written, if the county has has used all the days incorporated into its calendar, you’re not going to use them until they technically use them until the end of the year. I mean, I forget the semantics,
But you would never be able to do it because you’re not going to technically use them until the end of the year. So I think operationally how that would look is if we know we have four snow days built into our calendar, the way that we write it,
We are going to our last day is going to be if we use all four of those snow, if we have four snow days, if we use all four, we’re going to get out June 17th. Right? Okay. I think if we have four days, we’ve had two that we’ve used this year.
If we have two more, if it snows tomorrow and it snows the next day, and then here we are, it’s February 27th and we’re looking at a fifth snow day, which we know we haven’t really accounted for at the end. I think what they’re saying
Is that the superintendent could call, it’s another snow storm. Ladies and gentlemen. It’s the fifth day we would be out of school. But what we’re going to do is call today a synchronous. Yes. Okay. Got that. And we would need to be able to pivot. Yeah. And to be clear,
All the all the talk around the weather notwithstanding, when I originally talked about an asynchronous day, I met asynchronous. I don’t I’m I understand we’re talking about synchronous. But what I and other board members have mentioned is just a complete hey, you’re on your own to do stuff and there’s no interaction
Because I think that’s much more beneficial to to what we’re we were speaking about and giving people time off. But that’s something we don’t have the ability to do that unfortunately. Miss Smith, if you want to make a final point. No, no, it was covered.
I just want to make sure from a parent perspective, perhaps lay it out like what it looks like to have those snow days and kind of what that messaging is back to parents around. We haven’t used the days. Therefore, the school year will end on this date as opposed to the date
That was originally communicated. But it seems as if we’ve already clarified that. So no need to add that. It’s all right. Thank you so much, ladies. Much appreciate. It. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Again. Next up, we will have Mr. Haim on public private partnerships, P3. Yeah, thank you.
But good afternoon, everyone. That afternoon. Hi. Welcome. Steve, who’s our director of Player Construction, and we are here to provide an update on where we are in this process of exploring the feasibility of P3 public private partnerships for funding Spanish network renovation projects.
During this presentation, we’re going to define what a P3 is. We’re going to provide a historical perspective of how we got to this point, and then at the end we will provide staff a recommendation moving forward. Good afternoon. As Mr. Hyde mentioned, P3 stands for Public Private Partnership and it is an innovative
Way to contract for delivery of public infrastructure. P3 is not unique to public infrastructure. You see it all over the place, especially here in the U.S. for roads. It’s a big venue to do it and the reason is because the revenue collection through the tolls on those roads.
But you are starting to see it now as it relates to facilities. The contract is between a private agency excuse me, a public agency and a private partner. And the private partner is bringing the financing. And there are several ways that that can happen. And they work to assess
That the facility is maximizing the life of it. And so that when they hand it back to the public agency, it is in good condition. And then from the end of the contract, the public agency, in this case, the school system, would operate the facility for the rest of the time.
So there are several structures, as you see listed here, design is one design, build finance, design, build finance, maintain in design, build finance, maintain and operate. So the other thing here to note is that P3 terms can vary greatly, but as a general rule, they usually go between
20 to 30 years as a length of the term for the P3 agreement was let’s discuss the historical subjective perspective to discuss how we got here. The charge during the 2022 legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly adopted Senate Bill 916 House Bill 739, which was the workgroup to study
The fiscal and operational viability of public private partnerships for Charles County Public Schools. It charged a workgroup and we’ll in a moment illustrate who was a part of that work group to study the public private partnerships as a model for school construction in Charles County. The bill became effective on June 1st, 2022.
The workgroup was charged presenting the findings and report by December 31st, 2020, to the various stakeholder groups, which included the State Senate, the General Assembly, our county commissioners, the Board of Education. The workgroup participated in seven public meetings. The first meeting was conducted on July 27, 2022 and the workgroup invited staff
From Prince George’s County Public Schools, Charles County Government and the town of La Plata to present and discuss various topics at meetings. The report was presented to the Board of Education on December 13, 2022. The purpose workgroup was tasked to study the fiscal and operational viability of using P3 for financing constructing, maintaining
And operating schools in Charles County. Also, the implementation of a public private partnership by Charles County Public Schools. How a public private partnership may relieve the significant burden for funding new school construction and renovations for Charles County Public Schools. Make recommendations regarding using public private partnerships for new school construction and maintenance
And rehabilitation of schools to meet the identified needs at a lower cost. The workgroup members included two senators Senator Arthur Ellis, Senator Michael Jackson, two delegates, Delegate Deborah Davis and Delegate Edith Patterson. Two members of the Charles County Board of Commissioners which included Commissioner Thomas, Peter Coates and Commissioners Commissioner Amanda Stewart.
Two members of the Board of Education at that time was our current and then former board chair Mike Lucas, and then four former board member Jennifer Abel. It also included the chair of the Interagency Commission on School Construction, the IEC we commonly refer to, and that was the executive Director, Alex Donahue,
The executive director for the Maryland Stadium Authority, Eric Johnson. And the workgroup also included members, staff members, including our superintendent, Dr. Maria Navarro, Eric Swartz, our staff attorney. Steve Andrus, our director of planning Construction, and myself as chief of Operations of Services. Okay. From the executive summary of the report.
The which was December of 2020 to the in order to conduct the fiscal feasibility analysis, the workgroup recommended hiring a financial advisor. This was something that was highly advised also by the staff at Prince George’s County, who had recently gone through it to go and examine that actual viability.
The workgroup also recommended that funding sources be identified and that the financial advisor would work to look at those funding sources, but then also to take the P3 to the market, to the private investors to determine viability, which would allow us to understand the investment size and to
Look at a possible package for creation of how many schools could be included in a P3 package. And that is an item that was studied at length with the work with the financial advisor. The workgroup further recommended the P3 go with the design finance construct model for any renovation or construction,
And this was because we have done a good job with Charles County Public Schools, with our maintenance and our operations of our facilities. However, I do want to comment that one of the things that we did differently with the study was actually to look at the design, build, finance, maintain option.
This is slightly different than the original report, and the reason that was is you have another funding partner who is into the mix. If you go that route because then you have several partners who participate in the agreements and contribute the capital. And so you’re looking
At a broader pool of companies that are available and partners that are available for these kinds of agreements. So we wanted to make sure that we looked at the broadest spectrum and sort of the the more regularly used type of P3 when we were doing the study with the with the financial advisor.
The workgroup recommended that P3 be an option for adding capacity when enrollment growth outpaces our capacity. This was studied. This is what you’ll see as package number one. Additionally, they wanted us to the workgroup suggested looking at the creation of early learning centers for expanded full day pre-K.
As we know, this is a big driver with the blueprint. This was discussed at length and ultimately was decided to be incorporated into P3 that were brought forward, but not necessarily as its own item. And the final thing here was that the P3 model, if it were to move forward,
Would also package several renovation projects together for aging infrastructure through capitalizing on savings through economies of scale, prototype opportunities, capitalizing on deferred maintenance and the accelerated delivery. And that is what you will see when we talk about packages two and three that are talked about a little further here. Next steps as recommended
By JLL, again, who was the financial advisor as demonstrated through the funding analysis, there are challenges regarding identification of a dedicated funding source for a P3 anticipated availability. Payment for packages two and three are estimated, estimated to be approximately 25,000,029 million respectively. In their first year that the schools would be available,
This payment would increase slightly over the term of the 30 years as the operating portion would be linked to CPI Consumer Price Index. As such, JLL presents the key next steps as follows. One Introduce P3 legislation in Charles County, the result of which would give KPS another delivery option
That would accelerate the enhancement and condition of existing schools while addressing school capacity needs to advocate for additional funding from the county via redirection of existing funding sources towards KPS, increasing the debt limit or finding ways to increase tax revenues. And three socialize the business case for the P3
With key local and state stakeholders to garner support for state funding for availability payment and JLL and GWB, who was the architect? They presented this report to the Charles County Commissioners on January 9th, 2024, so roughly a month ago. So as I mentioned a minute ago, there were three potential
Packages that were studied and what you see is listed here. But the package one is to bring forward elementary 24 in middle school ten. These would be two new facilities that are in our ten year outlook. And currently we have them that the earliest case start would be 2026 from middle school ten
And 2029 for elementary 24. The end result of their study was that the P3 would deliver the buildings a little earlier. They could deliver them in 2028, where the traditional design build would have them come open in 2031. But there was no savings, so it actually cost more
With the P3 to do these two new schools than it would through the traditional way we do it through the CHP. And really that’s because there is no deferred maintenance cost. The availability payment would start in 2028 and as Mr. Heim mentioned, those would be over a 30 year term
And this one would be for package one, about $15.8 million a year for the next 30 years. Package number two was two middle school excuse me, was middle school replacements for three middle schools as you see here, Matthew Henson Middle School, John Hansen Middle School and General Smallwood Middle School. They were
They are not in our recipe for replacement as of now, which was a point that the county finance folks were talking about with the commissioners that at the January 9th meeting, because currently they’re not even programed. So it’s not as if they’re comparable to where we are now.
But if we were to do them starting immediately and the commissioners were to recognize them, the best case scenario would have us opening all four of those buildings through the traditional process in 24 P3 would be 2028. We would have deferred saving, we would have savings through P3
Two to the tune of about $12.3 million and mostly due to the deferred maintenance and delivering them all at the same time. But this has a availability payment of $25.4 million for the next 30 years. And then the final package was the elementary schools, which there are four of them Thomas Higdon,
Indian head, Walter J. Mitchell and Malcolm and the traditional process would have these available. Again, not all of them are in our CIP. If we were to plug them in immediately, the traditional process would have them starting excuse me, having them already in 2037
Where the P3 could have them all already in 2028. But the savings here is only $1.5 million, so not as much as the middle schools. And the availability payment here would be $28.5 million yearly for the next 30 years. So the KPS staff recommendation seems to be a staff welcomes opportunities
For alternative funding sources for new school construction or major renovation projects. Staff is also interested in opportunities that could expedite the design and construction process for delivery of new schools or the renovation of existing schools. However, neither the workgroup or the financial advisor identified funding sources for P3 projects.
So CPS, CPS staff supports our local delegation proposing legislation at the state level to identify a funding source for future P3 projects. Knowing our operating budget cannot be identified as a funding source. I’d like to repeat that last comment. Knowing that our operating budget cannot be considered as a funding source,
Staff supports design financing model for a school renovation pad package involving multiple schools to maximize cost savings through the funding of projects. And one of the reasons why we are cautious is we have a neighbor in L.A. who is going through this process right now.
So they have a two phase process for building several new schools as part of a phase one and phase two. One of the struggles that they are going through right now is they are also in their budget cycle is identifying how they’re going to finance their portion through their operating budget.
So there’s been considerable media attention over the last couple of weeks regarding that. So Prince George’s County Public Schools is involved in the current largest P3 partnership for constructing or renovating public schools in the United States at this time. So we are intrigued by that prospect. But again,
It is in an early stage and we just want to be sure that we are cautious as we make this consideration. But again, we want to emphasize that, you know, through our operating budget, we don’t see this as a way for us to fund our our share.
And also, as we mentioned with the IEC involved in the work group. Just a reminder to the board and the public, our ten year average through our traditional financing or funding for school construction, which is through the ICRC, IPI, on average our ten year average is around 10 million.
So with any of those three packages that have been identified here with the lowest at a 15 million per year, over 30 years were to the highest at 29 million over a 30 year period. The CIP is is not, again, a funding source that we consider an option at at this time.
I yes, I just want to be clear. So are the reason we’re coming to you today is when the commissioners when the folks presented to the commissioners, there was a discussion amongst the commissioners wanting to get some feedback from the school board. If there was any language for the delegation
From our local delegation delegation. So that last slide that we have right there is after the analysis that we’ve done, this is sort of the recommended language that we would propose to the board since the Commissioner asked, the commissioners asked what would be the
The perspective from the Board of Education on this topic. Thank you. I want to clarify, because this is scheduled for action for us. So what you’d want us to vote on is whether or not we’re in agreement with your recommendation. Right. Not to proceed with. It later in the meeting. Yes. Thank you.
A if Mr. Lucas has in mind as the former chair, would you like to speak first? I know you love historical perspective. Sure. Yeah, sir. So I think Mr. Hime gave a good summary. I think the first thing I would say is that, you know, the Prince George’s model was completely different
Than than what we require here in in Charles County. They they needed to build schools because of the student population growth and the age of some of their schools. And and so they they needed it. They needed it like yesterday and they they fair to say
They paid literally to get the school sooner. Okay. So what what they traded for in time to get the schools there they’re paying for in dollars and they realize a lot of that savings through the economy is scales of building a lot of stuff. At the same time, being able to order
Things and having, you know, people doing the same tasks and they get better at doing the tasks they can. They can build things better and quicker. So I just want to make that point that we’re just we’re not in the same mode. And it sounds great when someone says,
P3, look, you know, we can find somebody to do this. They keep in mind they’re not doing it because they’re, you know, great con people. They’re doing it because they’re a business and they want to make a dollar. And I got nothing against that. And I think I think are two important things.
And this is a very well crafted statement here. The recommendation is that the, you know, if anything is done in the future, that it that it should be the design finance construct and, not the maintain, because we we do a great job, our folks here do a fantastic job in in maintaining schools.
And I don’t think we need to to entertain that. And the other key thing, as was mentioned, is the funding source. And, you know, if someone outside of the county wants to draw, you know, $100 million or up and say, go build something or, you know, we can do that.
The other thing and were you going to go through the you included the presentation, are you by the contractor? You’re not going to go through that. I mean, it was kind of long. I did post that the public Yeah. And so so yeah.
So that if we need to refer to anything today and. Correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t know if it was for package two and three, I know it was, it was for one of them, it involved really raising you don’t get to say that were too much raise
With a Z completely tearing down the schools like we did with mud and rebuilding them and doing it. I believe it was good. So I. Don’t know about the last part, but I know it involved completely raising the schools. To just two and three be replacement schools, not renovations.
So that is a little different than what we’ve done. The buildings done before have all been renovations. Replacement is a build, a new tear down the old. And in those packages it was proposed that they were done simultaneously. So so so let me just finish if I could, please.
So we need to think about what are we doing, the father students in those schools if in fact. Yeah. Yeah. So so you would you would occupy the schools until the new school is constructed. And once a new school is constructed, then they would come back and tear down the old school.
So one of our neighboring jurisdiction decision jurisdictions has done that a couple of times. So with over in Calvert they did that with Northern High school and then they’re going to be doing that northern middle school. So you see the old building. While the new building is being constructed, construction is complete.
Then you go back and they tear down the old building. Does that presume that those we’ll just call them new schools are on the same site as the existing school. Okay. So so then you get to go to school for two years with construction sounds okay. Got it. All right.
Well, the last part that alleviates the the need for one for having to put the students somewhere. So I think that’s it. If I can answer anything else, let me know. But Mr. Hammond, Mr. Andrew. It’s we’re integral part of this, obviously. Okay. I can. Who was first?
I’m sorry, Mr. Hancock And then Mr.. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for presentation. I have a question, and Mr. Lucas kind of alluded to this. So typically, and it’s a question that I have, I really would like an answer on. Typically when you when you go into an endeavor
Like this with a private partner, you’re in a business where you’re making a profit. And obviously the school system monetarily doesn’t generate a profit. So what would what would incentivize a a private partner to partner with a public agency such as the school system? Now, is it that they’re going to gain something
Or are they just financing money and we’re paying it back at a high interest rate? So it’s a bit of a combination of both. The interest that the money that you’re getting from them is definitely more expensive than the money that the county can get
Or that the state gets through the traditional processes. But the the private partners are making money through the expediency of their process and through the multiple buying opportunities that they’re doing. So in the example that was mentioned by Mr. Lucas with Prince George’s County, with them doing six middle schools at one time,
They were able to do mass quantity purchasing for six middle schools that are very similar And so they can construct, you know, plumbing bathroom sets in similar ways and have them all done in and just almost, almost do them in a. Mass production. In sort.
Of a factory setting so that they can build them quicker and a little a little more cost effectively. So some of those kinds of options also add to the cost savings that they’re able to generate. So essentially it’s it’s the ability, the plus side for them would be
To do multiple projects at once. And also the interest rate would probably be higher. So it’s a win win and then we can get projects done sooner without having to. So we wouldn’t have to wait for the state to fund us for certain projects. Is that correct.
And that in going back to Steve’s point about the design aspect in the prototype schools, you’ll see with options two and three they packaged together middle schools and you package together elementary schools again to hopefully I, I idealistically use that prototype. So you’re saving on design and architectural and engineering fees on it.
And that’s what Prince George’s County did. So their phase, their first phase, they built five middle schools and one their sixth school was a K through eight. But you’re going to use a similar design to cut back on on those expenses. And as Mr.
Lucas said, when you’re also then building all those schools around the same time that set the scope of the work in the bundling of, you know, getting all those materials at one time. So when you’re buying in the bulk, there are potential savings with the, you know, the tremendous cost
Of the materials and resources that go into those buildings. Yeah. I mean. And that’s all I have. And thank you for that for the answers that that helps me out a lot. And I think it’s good for the public to see you know why, why would we be looking
At this as an option And as right now we’re just supporting the recommendation, but it helps to answer a lot of questions on what exactly the P3 partnership is. So it was a great presentation. Thank you. Yes. Ms.. Smith, Miss Cramer and Miss Thomas. Well, hello. Thank you for the presentation.
Mr.. Hi, Mr. Andritz. You are helping me to expand my school board vocabulary because to me p three is for the blueprint. It’s the career readiness pillar. So that for that expansion, just for the public, because I know was mentioned that Jll, JLL was the group that you all worked with
To provide the feasibility study, Correct? Okay. So I’m curious, it was mentioned that some of these schools were not in the C IP plan or the layout that we have. So how did they come upon kind of offering schools what is necessarily an archetype? So there was, as Mr. Heim mentioned,
We partnered with JLL, but we also partnered with Gww, who’s an architect, and we did a, an assessment of the facilities, and that’s in part of their the original study. And part of what they did was looking at the schools. So we started by identifying data that the state had put out recently
With their analysis and looking at the FCI scores, which is FCI stands for Facility Condition Index, which is a sort of an industry standard time that’s out there for commercial buildings. It has do with the life expectancy of the building. And so how much useful life of each system
In the building in general is left and it’s on a percentage. And so we looked at this and sort of broke these schools up into 60% or greater FCI outside the growth area and 50% or greater with future capacity constraints using that state data, because it had recently been
A large assessment that had been done. And so that’s how we started to narrow down the schools. And we took that and then went with the architect and actually walk the buildings and assess them and looked at them. Now, was it a extremely detailed deep dive into everything.
No, it was a overall look at the facilities, but it was taking that state data and then trying to further focus it to figure out how do we narrow these packages to create some opportunities. And the reason why we selected GW is they actually one of our on call architects.
But more importantly, back in 2013, 2014, we contracted with them at the time to do a study of all of our facilities, and I was under the suggestion at the time of the Executive director of the IAC. I’m Jonathan Dr. Lever, and that’s we refer to that report
A number of times over the past several years. But that was a report. And keep in mind, this was 2014, but they at the time made a recommendation to us to address our facilities. And at that time it had a ticket price of half billion dollars.
So at this time would be much conceivably higher. But also keep in mind at that time, that was before we started addressing open space schools. So at that time we had 11 open space schools. When that study was conducted and through several
Of our renovations at that a larger scale to see IP level but also on a on a local level would be we’ve been able to address, you know, in closing some of those open space schools. And just to remind the board and the public, we are currently in the process
Of taking care of our last three open space schools with with the project that’s going on at PICO, which is started this past summer and will continue on through the next two summers. And we look to start Indian heads, open space and closure the summer of 2025.
That could be a 2 to 3 year project and then the last open space and closure would be at James Creek Elementary School. And we have, thanks to the county, secured funding for those three projects. Fantastic Thank you. Just a quick follow up to that.
I know that the cost of material was mentioned in Mr. Hancock’s question. It can fluctuate. So this is sort of a best estimate given today’s numbers. How much leeway is provided kind of in these types of budgets to account for potential sort of two, three, 5% markups,
You know, three or four years from now if we were to proceed with something like this and actually get a partner, like how much wiggle room do we have there financially? So and I’ll speak it from the traditional side from first of all. So when we put a project out to bid,
Knowing that it’s going to be a two or three year project, that’s one of the things that the general contractors who are putting forth a bid have to consider. You know, looking at the market, what could happen over the next two or three years. So when they put together their bidding package,
They are considering, you know, the current inflation rates and trying to then project inflation rates over the next 2 to 3 years while that project is occurring. So with this, we’re just recommending a specific project. So, you know, the numbers that are put forth right now are current numbers.
So if this if at the state level legislation does get enacted and they do identify a funding source, once we would then put out, you know, bids for for a project or, you know, the scale, any of these projects, then the general contractors who would bid
Would have to take those things into consideration and jail of the building cost escalation. But I don’t remember the exact it’s somewhere in the range of about 3 to 5%. So it’s only going to be good for a certain amount of time.
If this is a thing that happens in 3 to 5 years, then these numbers are obviously going to need to be reassessed. So the one thing that the state does, the ITC is on a yearly basis because of the cap they put out with the the cost per square foot is for construction.
And as you can well guess, those costs are nothing but nothing but increasing over the last several years. Yeah. Thank you both. Okay, we’re a little behind time, but I wanted to get the final comment, so I believe it was Ms.. Cramer, Mr. Meesha, Thomas. And then it’s about the Washington.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I’ll be brief. Thank you all for this presentation. Think it’s helpful? I did have an opportunity to watch the last half of the presentation to the Board of Commissioners. So you answered a lot of the questions that I had from watching that presentation.
One thing I just want to point out that I thought that I heard during the Board of Commissioners presentation and wanted you all to just confirm her correctly, or is that one of the things that we give up is sort of the autonomy with design
For the schools when we enter into this partnership. Is that correct? Because it’s sort of like making a cookie cutter like school and, you know, they’re going to duplicate that across multiple schools and that’s one of the ways that this whole process is designed and why some of the benefits are realized,
Because we don’t really get the autonomy to sort of design the schools the way that we would like. Is that did I understand that correctly? You’re correct. We we would give them general guidelines on what we’d be looking for, and then it’s up to them to pull all that together. Okay. Okay.
Thank you for that clarification. And then just one additional point I just wanted to make. I know that Prince Georges we talked a lot about because they I guess most recently and I don’t know when they started their whole P3 P3 project do either of you know,
When that began, when they went into phase one. I know they’re just getting ready to go into phase two, but. So the phase one schools are all officially open now. Opened last summer with the final one the K to eight actually opening in November or December of 23. So just recently.
But I believe the process getting that started took several years. So my I can’t give you an exact date, but I believe it’s at least three years back. Okay. They started with. That. Okay. So just because again in I read some information about it online and there are some articles
About how that has gone for Prince George’s County and just want, you know, for the benefit of my colleagues and the members of the public to understand that now they’re facing some challenges going into phase two. So they received, I think, six schools through phase one, and that worked out sort of,
I guess, mostly how they anticipated it would or hoped it would. But now going into phase two, the school system is being asked to use operating budget funds. And so that would be one of my main concerns as a board member and also committing the school system
To that long of a contract because, I mean, we don’t know what’s going to happen and know a year or two. So committing to that amount of money for such a long period of time would just be one of the concerns I have. And then reading what is happening in Prince George’s County
And how that’s evolving sort of gives me pause on this. I just wanted to go on the record to say that, but thank you all again for your presentation and for the information. Thank you. Ms.. Ms.. Mr.. THOMAS. Hi. Thank you. I’ll be brief, but historically,
I think I looked at one of the briefings that says we about 50% of less of the funding we request for CERP than what we actually get. Is that accurate? Right. So if we’re if we find ourselves in that kind of, then it would
I guess the correlation would also be that we would get if we committed ourself to 30 years, we’d always be struggling to make that bill, if you will, every, every year. So I guess to miss Cramer’s point, I also would be concerned about having that bill
For 30 years and not really understanding the projections of the landscape of what our school district may need or what it will look like. But still having that consistent bill. The other the other question I have is after we did the study, are there any things
That we can learn from the study that will allow us. To possibly adjust some. Of what we are looking for, how we can support the schools? I mean, as Mr. Lucas said, we do do a good job of making sure we maintain the schools. I mean, we don’t have crumbling cracking schools where,
You know, water is spilling children and it’s not safe. So I think because it’s not a safety issue, but a capacity issue at times, because we know our county is growing, are there things that we have learned that may allow us to just. A little bit. What we’re already doing without then
Having to foot this this large bill? I think when we get into a period where we are building schools at a quicker pace, then one of the things we could do is considering a prototype school. The reason why we’ve not done that so over the last
15 years is because we opened Neal Elementary School in 2008 and then we didn’t open our next elementary new elementary school until 2019 with Billingsley. So over that ten year period, things change at the state and local level with codes and also with, you know, with with with green schools and such.
And then also meeting LEED Silver. But if we get to the point where we are building schools or, you know, or overlapping schools at the same time, zones are in the same size scope, that’s something that we can consider using prototype schools. And that would cut there would be savings there
To that design engineering in architect phase. Okay. And the comment, I would add there is that they have to be at the same level. Okay. So you can’t use a prototype for an elementary school on a middle school, but they have to be continual versions of elementary schools. Okay.
And there was a time going back to the late nineties and my one of my former predecessors talked about there was a likelihood at that point with the way enrollment trends were going that we were kind of probably be building one school per year over a over ten year period.
And then things happened with the economy where the economy crashed and that did not happen. But one of the things at that time was considering prototype schools. Again, as Steve mentioned, when they were at that at that same level. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. I think that that’s used and I think
That the last comment would be if the ownership costs of the thing this seems to like tie us up with this, like there seem to be like that presentation was a promise of a savings for O&M cost, but it doesn’t really seem like that’s accurate when you compare even the apples and oranges.
There’s no real O&M cost savings on the numbers that you gave, like $30 million, I mean, 30 years, 15.8. Like, it just doesn’t seem like you’re saving anything. But we know we do need new schools. I think that’s something we address for capacity.
But I just didn’t see a savings out of that totally. So from my perspective, you know, to kind of sum up, you know, it gets you once you gets what you want at a quicker rate, but you’re financing it over a longer period of time than through the traditional funding source.
So if we go through the, you know, the CFP, in most cases, we’re getting our state share over a 4 to 5 year period and then we’ve paid off that that project. And typically we get our county share in a usually a two, three year period and they’ve taken care of their share.
So you’re getting what you want in a quicker period of time. But you know, looking at the long term skill of it is that you’re financing over 30. So in the long run, you know it’s going to cost you more over the three year period. Okay.
My last comment, I would say that I think with if if the commissioners want to go find this money, I’m happy to take it. Right. Happy to take that money to do something great with it. But I do want to be fiscally responsible because you were all taxpayers
And we want to spend the money judiciously as possible. So thank so much. Thank you. I misspelled Washington. I will be quick. Thank you for the presentation. DP three I’m very familiar with that because the federal government does that and the cost saving is when you buy books
And you have a similar design because that’s where your money isn’t in design. So if they’re going to do a design all the way through the same for elementary and for middle school, that’s another savings. They’re and when you look at the pieces of them building it
To where you are, the years that you want to build it, it also is a saving to the parents and to the future students that’s coming. So we don’t physically see a savings like of money. But you see us say you see us saving, saying you get your buildings,
You when they construct and go buy your products, buy the stuff and everything is real cheap because they buy it in big box and stuff. So the government understands that once they do that, then that’s the saving and we’re both are. Satisfied at. The same time
Because when you do one at a time, it’s a lot of money and your contingency. I know, don’t understand that when you’re building for five and six years, you’re going to have to pay a contingent fee of 20%. That’s where the money come from.
And if you don’t use it all, if they give it back to you, so that saves them. But also when you go on through it is to prevent longer frames where they are set backs and stuff. What you do is you also put in contention that you must meet these deadlines,
That general contractor must do that. That’s how that gives us savings of give us a cue so they don’t commit their stuff. The money come out of their pockets if they own time. We continue to keep paying. So I do see the benefit because I live the I’m living it
So that’s why I know that it works. And this is something that is well overdue because you’re not building a school, different school every time, because that’s where the money is up it you have come up with a scheme of saying, Hey, I’m going to be all the elementaries like this,
Because back in the day, that’s what we did in a way. So it saved us money so an elementaries would be able to do the same. So I feel that, you know, this what you’re doing. You just jumped up. 20 years ago to do it at about 40 or 50. You.
So Thank you. Thank you. I’m sorry. I know. I just real quickly if we’re going to be voting on this are considering voting on this later. The line here, the recommendation where you say P3 projects, knowing our operating budget cannot be identified as a funding source,
I think and maybe we can talk offline if I’m correct here. The other thing I like to have in this Thomas alluded to is that it shouldn’t impact our recipe for our the things that we already have planned because because they may magically find this money and they say, here, here’s all this
And you retire ships is going to be dedicated to building this and all these other projects that we have. So if if superintendent agrees, if we could think about language to include in that, I’d appreciate it. Thank you. You want to respond to this? I don’t. Know.
I think the board just doing action has to take an AI. Mr. Lucas has to introduce. And if he has, we can help him write a quick sentence and then the board has to agree that I can amend the language. Agree? Yeah. Okay. I just wanted to quickly reiterate what Mr.
Himes said, that our operating budget cannot be used as a funding source, and that is my fear that we inherit this. And then for whatever reason, it doesn’t go as planned. And now we’re on the hook to finishing these schools. And I think Mr. Lucas made a great point about this model,
Somewhat successfully working in Prince George’s. That’s not necessarily our needs. And I agree with Ms.. Thomas that based on what you presented, I’m not seeing a significant savings for us. And I did want to ask, just to clarify again, because this is up for action this evening,
That your recommendation is that we not utilize the P3 model. So that’s, you know, just to clarify that, is that correct? So I will just interject because we got to Yeah, move forward. Yeah. Our our recommendation is that you submit the following paragraph, but there may be modifications or additional statements.
Okay. Back to the commissioners as our response. Okay. And then I wanted to follow up with the next steps then, because it’s not ultimately our decisions, I want to say so. Yes. So all we were asked from the commissioners was the perspective from the board. As soon as the board approves this,
Then we will send that as our formal response to the commissioners and then they can adjust their message, our message, and move it forward to to the legislators. So to up to Annapolis and our representatives. Mr. Anderson. Mr. Haim, thank you so much. Appreciate it. And next step is Ms..
Miller with the Blueprint update. Hello, everyone. Hi. Tuesday. Happy Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. Fat, Yes. Mardi Gras. Yes. Yes, you’re right. No, I’m telling you. Never been there is a negative connotation when it comes to that. It is actually very family friendly. Check it out. Okay.
So I am not here to talk about that. I am here to talk about the blueprint and give you some updates. I missed you last month. I was hoping for Snow, as Ms.. Thomas was saying earlier, I like I love snow days. So I’m going to talk with you
About some submission changes between last year 2023 and 2024. If you remember, last year we had a very long document, 164 questions that we had to submit that was due on March 15th of 2023. And so some changes for this year is there is a phased in submission for 2024,
Which gives us some additional time to think creatively, work with our stakeholder groups, and to really think of innovative solutions to address some of the questions and move forward with our plans. So we do have five questions that are due on March 15th, and these questions are very reflective in nature.
It’s asking us as a system how we address alignment with the blueprint to, our strategic plans and our goals, how do we communicate with stakeholders, What are the changes that are required system wide for implementation what challenges have we seen and how are we monitoring that progress of our blueprint plan?
So as I said previously, we had 164 questions that we had to submit last year, and this year we have many, much shorter number of questions that are required and everybody gets really excited about this. It’s exciting. But within each question there are several questions.
So they kind of tricked us a little bit thinking that it was less information to submit, but it’s really it’s pretty similar in the amount of information that we have to submit. Questions were updated by pillar, and there are some overall, overall questions were updated and there are 13 new questions.
If you remember, last year’s focus, especially with pillar three really focused on pre-K through grade five, Pillar three this year is really focusing on grades six through 12. So there are some new questions that are in there. But again, it is misleading because you think,
Wow, 29 questions, Christmas is going to be great. It’s really 164 questions that are just within 29. What we also have to submit is, if you remember with the blueprint for pillar one, there is a requirement to have private providers part of the pre-K population
When it comes to implementation for pre-K, every district in the state of Maryland will be requesting a waiver because as of 2324, we are to have 35% of our pre-K slots are to be private from private providers, and we have under probably 10 to 15 slots that are private providers.
I do want to give a shout out, though, to the Title one office who has been doing tremendous work with our private providers, especially in those catchment zones that serve the Tier one students trying to build the capacity with those private providers so they can become partners within our school system
And apply for those grants that are available to become private providers pre-K. We also have to prove that we have had that 10% salary increase above the above the contractual amount, and that was between the dates of July one, 2019 and June 30, 2024. And we have made that 10% salary increase.
Our career ladder plan is due in July of 2024, but It is not going to be it doesn’t need to start implement implementation until the following the following year. Also with the blueprint comes via this comprehensive literacy plan. I don’t know. I shared this information with the principals
That our new interim state superintendent has been known to raise the literacy scores when she was the state superintendent of Mississippi. They actually called her behind her back, which I think is great. The Mississippi miracle. They went from 50th in literacy to 21st under her leadership.
So she is really coming in and has a huge emphasis on literacy and with that is coming direct support also from MSD. So we’re going to see some school visits and some central office visits. We had a plan that we had to provide to MSD for our pre-K through five literacy plan.
We are waiting for feedback back from MSD for that and we have to have a full literacy plan in place by June 30th of 2024. We also have a comprehensive math literacy that plan for pre-K five is due in September of 2024 and then that full
Plan has to be in place, will receive lots of feedback from that before implementation. And Dr. Wright and her staff has, as they’ve been very open to say, this plan that you’re submitting is about a gotcha. We’re not trying to get anybody in trouble. We’re not trying to make anybody feel bad.
We’re here to be support for you and to help you with your plans. Moving student achievement forward. So I wanted to give you some information about those expert review teams updates. McDonough had their first site visit and that January 24th and 25th,
I want to give a shout out to Principal Russell and his high school resource teacher, Ms.. Gwendolyn Todd. They did an excellent job submitting all of these documents that are required prior to the visit. They submit evidence of implementation about a month prior to the visit, and they were so gracious. Mr.
Russell and Ms.. Todd They held a reflection session with our three other schools that have not gone through the process yet because, as you know, everybody’s nervous about about everybody coming in. So I am very appreciative, the McDonough team, to answer any questions that our other schools had.
Gail Bailey and Henson submitted their site visit document on January 31st. Their site visits are February 21st and 22nd between the two schools, they submitted over 200 artifacts to show implementation of the blueprint. So it is very time consuming on their part to have to do this work. I’ve been meeting
I was at McDonough one day a week for probably six weeks. I can’t do the work for them, but I can certainly be a thought partner. I’ve been teaming with all of the schools to sit there and just think of, you know, ask those important questions. What is it they’re doing?
What does it look like and how can we show others that come into the school what it is that your school is doing and the site visits? I want to give a shout out to all the central office staff that have provided coverage, because if you remember, part of
That expert review team process was that there are focus groups for our teachers. So they have to spend about 45 minutes outside of their classes. So we have been providing that support to the school is here at central office so we don’t have to pay for substitutes. So there’s an
Easy transition from, you know, the teacher leaving and then having a teacher to facilitate learning and then lacking their site visitors. And until March 20th and 21st, I’m leading with Ms.. Davis and Assistant Principal Hodges on Friday, actually to go back out there and to help
Provide that think partner support the expert review teams. There will likely be many more expert review team visits next school year. The blueprint requires a minimum of the the number of schools within the state to have a visit. And to be honest with you I don’t think that MSD
We’re going they’re going to make that minimum number. So with the literacy plans there, with the site visits that are coming along with that, that is how MSD and AIB are going to make that minimum criteria for the schools, school visits to take place, school year questions.
Okay, Sam, I spent the Washington hearing. Yes, Yes. Hello, Chris. I just got a couple of questions. I saw on your site. You had the career. Lateral on now. Yeah. And just for the public, I just want you to explain the email you between CPS, Tri-County and College of Southern Maryland.
How is that related to the blueprint and what are the responsibilities of the career counselors in each school and who is managing that? They are actually doing the work. Okay. Well, so according to pillar three of the blueprint, there is a partnership between the local workforce development
And the Local Workforce Development Board and the College of Southern Maryland to provide career counseling services for our students in grades six through 12. And what that looks like, because we share a local workforce development board with Calvert and Saint Mary’s and it may not look exactly the same
For all three of the districts. So the purpose was these career advisors and coaches to help explore different careers and to embed that into the work of the school day. So I know I’m not really well versed in exactly what is happening on a daily basis, but I’m sure Mr.
Lyons would be more than happy to come up here and help me. Thank you. Mr. Lyons. Good afternoon. Good to see everyone. So I just want to add that we added for the first time this year some career coaches to our middle schools and we’re in the process
Right now of working with them and training with them. And we have Excel, which is a program which students will put in their information about what their interests are, and they’ll have an opportunity to look at what types of careers match their interest.
But it also helps us put in their grades and keeps track of, you know, special things that they’re doing for portfolios. So when they do apply to colleges, it actually it’s a place where they can keep their things and have things and build it up over time.
So the right time, they are senior, they a wealth of information within that as well. But we’re in the process of working with those folks and we have someone here at central office that also came with this position that oversees the career coaches, both at the middle school and at the high school.
The positions at the high schools were elevated. This year. We had a career advisors at the high school prior to this year, but we have beefed up their job and we’ve had we’ve elevated that job so that they are taking on more of the career aspect of it
Before they focused more on the college and helping kids identify colleges and get ready and fill out the FAFSA. They’re still doing that, but they’re also looking at the career as well. We are working with the career development workforce. We met them earlier this week, actually,
Or I guess it was the end of last year. It was Monday, and we are looking at the plan that was developed and where some gaps are, and we’re going to meet with them again and fill in those gaps to talk a little bit
About how we can do some more support for our schools, our students at the middle school and at the high school level. So I’ll be able to bring back more information once we build that plan and we have a stronger understanding on how we’re working together. Okay.
And I definitely understand that because the reason I. Ask is I got an eighth. Grader. So I ask her about how she. Started this and she didn’t know what I was talking about. So I said, Well, let me ask the question because I know I read the email you in and
I, I, I think that Miller Summers has a career development developer there. So I just was wondering what kind of measurements we can put in place to make sure that this is actually doing because the state paying money for this want to make sure that our students are actually doing it.
I know you say you have a program, but I wanted the feedback from them. Curious because if you put your information in now, the thing about our system is it can come back and talk back to you and say nothing to you. So that career counselor,
What it does is it’s able to bounce back off If it says a child put all her stuff in there, say you’re supposed to be a nurse. I know my child’s name for the nurse. So she can be able to ask those extra. Questions and stuff.
So that’s why I say the benefit pays in. If we can make sure that we put this in practice sooner rather than later. It is a it’s an excellent tool because we know all kids are not going to go to college. So we want to make sure we prepare them
Either way they live when they leave. Charles County School, they are going to be added to the economy instead of being on the backs of the community. No, I agree. And so one of the trainings that our folks are going to get is in our starting to receive
Now is how to talk to students about what what their interests are and try to get more information out of them. Because sometimes when you talk to a middle school student, it’s hard to get anything other than I want to be a professional athlete or I want to be, you know, to be.
Rich, rich. And one of the trainings is to try to get some to teach our folks how to talk and speak with students, to pry their interest out of them, other than one or two things. Okay. All right. Thank you so. Much. Okay. I may call you back. All right.
Ms.. Smith And then, Ms.. Kramer. Just briefly, two statements in the question. I think the first statement sort of off the back of this, that the watching comment is one of the definite values of having a school board where you actually have parents who are serving
Is that are in the thick of it. So I have two middle schoolers who are reveling from having the college and career advisors in the school because they’re now going to have a job shadowing opportunity believe is next week. And so some emails were sent to parents for that particular middle school
That I believe is happening at other middle schools as well, that there’s an opportunity here. Of course, it’s up to parents to help their kids find that opportunity to transport them. There’s a waiver that has to be assigned me. There’s a whole series of things. My kid came to me and said,
I want to be an environmental engineer. I have no clue what that is. But these people had to get together, did some research. We wrote it down. We spoke with a couple of people and she has an opportunity. The other one wants to be a chef We’re looking for some opportunities,
But that was not available to them last year, right? Excuse me, That was not available to my ninth grader when she was in middle school. Granted, it was COVID times thinking of it. But now that that’s available to middle schoolers and our high schoolers now, phenomenal, phenomenal. That’s one statement.
So very excited for that. My question, I’ll kind of sandwich them together. My question is around. I know that last year when we made the submission, there were some issues in terms of the 130 plus questions that went out, and then they came back and said, Well, actually
We asked for you to be kind of sending your detail. We now need more. Have they given you clearer guidance in terms of what you are to submit? And the secondary portion of that is I also issues between the AIB and MSD in terms of their sequence review
Where you had me back right, other branch hadn’t necessarily. So they have had. That been. That has been streamlined. good. Which is very nice. Yes that has been streamlined. Each of the questions does have some criteria for success within each question, but I do anticipate that there will times for us
To have to make some clarifications in our responses. And I think everybody’s anticipating that one of the things that we are doing and that we are participating in is that every week, every Monday from 11 to 12, there’s office hours that are held and the office hours are sponsored
By AIB and MSD and they are on specific topics. So it when we have questions and as we are generating our responses to each of the pillars, we are able to go to these office hours and to ask questions. But I do anticipate, just like any time we submit something,
Whether it be our strategic for our Esser plans, that there’s always going to be clarifying questions that will probably be asked of us. And I think all of the the A’s are anticipating and we have plans for that as well. We do have, you know, even though it’s not due
Until May 1st, you know, we have internal things taking place within our district as well. We have seen the blueprint responses are due on March 18th. And so what I do is I go through and I review them as somebody who isn’t writing all of the responses to the questions to see,
Do they align, Do they make sense? Does it look like that it’s coming from the narrative of one person? From that we do have two separate feedback sessions that are internal, that are taking a half a day where we have several other groups come in and read our responses
And match them to the criteria for success. We’re also going to have some feedback sessions that are open to the community similarly to that we’ve had in the past, and we’re going to look at having an additional town hall session focused on the feedback in April,
And this is all prior to us submitting the May blueprint. I think my last comment is, Well, thank you for that. Yeah, absolutely. Last comment is the blueprint is the law of the land. Well, the law of Maryland. I said that the land. Yeah, the land of Maryland.
It is. It is our law. So people definitely need to know that this is a foundational expectation. That’s not to say that we can’t go further or go faster sooner. Yes, but it’s the law of the land. So I definitely want to extend kudos to the principles
That you worked with during the expert review teams for all the artifacts that they were able to present, because that just says to me that they’re doing not just the basic expectation, but more. And they’re so proud of the work that they are doing. They are.
I also think that feeds into our budget conversations with our fiscal stakeholders beyond Central office, just in terms of what our state superintendent wants to see relative to literacy and sort of our vision for reading and learning within our county. So definitely one
To all those talking points in whenever we kind of go out and speak to the commissioners and our delegates around the structure of our budget and the fact it’s not only the community’s expecta So thank you. Ms.. KRAMER And then Ms.. Amita Thomas will be the final point. We’re about 20 minutes over.
We got to hustle. I’ll be as quick as I can, Madam Chair. Thank you so much. I did say, you know, I can. Absolutely understand. Absolutely. I want to to stay on track with you. Thank you again for being here, Ms.. Mulholland. MILLER And so just a couple of points.
So one, to piggyback off of with what Mr. Miller said. So I have noticed something in the middle school as well. As you know, I have a middle schooler who’s in sixth grade and I just want to give kudos to even the school counselors who are not in the career counselor position. Right.
So something separate. But my son is going through course selection right now, which I’m sure many of our middle schoolers are right for next year. And I had a conversation with the school counselor. She called me because I emailed her about some questions and, you know,
Trying to get the best path for my son for next year with the courses because they have some options, you know, in trying to discuss that with him. And I just wanted to just sort of, you know, sort of illustrate how even the school counselors are embracing their role
And embracing the role of the blueprint, because she had conversations and met with all the students, including my son, and sort of explain to them, hey, Spanish is now available for you. You’re going this is a graduation requirement. So if you want to free up more options in high school, I would recommend,
You know that you go ahead and get this out of the way. And like having those type of strategic conversations at the middle school level I think is so invaluable. Right. And so, you know, then we talked and made sure we were on the same page
About what we thought was best for my son. And I know she’s done it with some other parents as. Well, and I just appreciate that because it’s, you know, not just one position or two positions, but leadership positions at the school. Everyone has to sort of embrace,
You know, what the blueprint has to offer and how we all can come together to sort of make make all of its, you know, benefits come to fruition. And so I just wanted to shout out the school counselors there and that particular Ms.. Haskins at matter.
WOMAN So she is doing a great job in her role there and helping the students because that goes along to me. The career counselors work because, you know, we’re saying here, you know, consider these options for course selection, because then when you get to high school
And you have additional options for post-secondary, you know, these will impact the decisions you make now in in middle school will impact what’s available you or what options you have in high school. So I felt like that was really important to just highlight. So I just wanted to to say that
And I have a couple of questions. So I know that with the private pre-K, we’ve had challenges since the beginning. And based on what you said today, with every county in the state requesting a waiver, we’re not alone in that. Just wanted to clarify with the ten slots that we do
Approximately have available, the school system or the state is providing some type of compensation to to the providers. Okay. So just wanted to clarify that for the public that that is sort of, I guess, their incentive, right, to. Their receiving like a per student funding their tier one students. Right.
Just like the school system is receiving the same. Okay. So I think there was some question around that. So I just wanted to clarify that for me and for the public. My second question is with regard to the literacy plan that these interim superintendents, the superintendent has requested, is this something new
Or is this something we were already working on? Can you give a little more context on that? So we were required in our submission last year to provide a plan around literacy. So this is more of an expansion of that, because remember, with our plan
We are limited to the number of words that we submit and pages. So this is much more detailed in the plan itself, and it’s asking for key components about professional learning, implementation, how we’re monitoring, what interventions look like, how do we evaluate the effectiveness of this.
So it’s much more detailed than what was required for the blueprint. Okay, thank you. Because I was kind of confused. I was like, I thought literacy plan was already included, but this is sort of an enhancement to the original requirement. Okay. Thank you for that. And then my final question
Is with the expert review team visits, when will could we expect to receive feedback from those? So I, I spoke to my counterpart in Baltimore County and they received it took about three months for the schools to receive the feedback. So what is nice about the feedback is that
The principal will receive a report from MSD and has the opportunity to review the the feedback. And if there’s like a glaring concern that something was misrepresented in the report, the principals have the opportunity to submit additional artifacts or to talk to MSD that says, Wait a minute,
What do you mean you didn’t see any questioning taking place in this lesson, you know, and talk to the teacher. There’s lesson plans. So there is an opportunity for the principal to respond back. MSD But what we’re finding is that it’s taking around three months time. Thank you.
So looking forward to probably the end of the school year. We’ll have some people really. Hey, great. Thank you so much again. Thank you. I believe Ms.. Summation. Thomas. Thank you. I’ll be really brief. Thank you for the update. And Ms.. Kremer kind of stole my thunder a little bit.
I really wanted to have some details. And in the absence of being brief, some details about the literacy plan and I know there was a literacy plan submitted, I know there’s one being done, but so the expansion is really getting more of the, if you will, devil in the details
About how the execution of the literacy plans. Do you expect that that’s a really heavy lift, that the expansion is a really heavy lift for the response? And also, are. You are you. Feeling like you have to augment more information or materials? I would like to invite Mr.. Lawrence on a friend.
Via the phone. A friend. It’s a great question. So I think we just wanted more details on how we were enacting the science of reading and how we were training our teachers and making sure that everyone had a foundation to be able to teach the foundation of skills really in the early grades.
And then how do you build on that in the later grades? And so we it’s something that we’re already doing. And so what we had to do was put on paper and we presented last year to the board on the reading program that we have here in Charles County
And make sure that the board had it. I think it’s very comprehensive. I think we hit all the the spots that we were being asked to hit. Once again, it was a draft that we had to submit to the state. And then we’re going to get feedback so I can share the plan.
Once we received back from the state and we might have to make some modifications if the state requires it. Well, thank you for that. That’s really helpful because I know there are a lot of parents who were very hit last year when the reading plan
I watched the board meeting when we talked about reading. I know the science of reading is really important to lots of parents because at those foundational levels it’s extremely important to develop good reading skills, phonics awareness and all those things that meet the, you know, the various types of learners.
And so I think the plan was comprehensive, which is why I asked a question Do we have a lot of work to, you know, a lot to do in order to be able to submit that? Because I did I too thought that plan was pretty comprehensive. So for,
I guess, the benefit of the public, we didn’t have a lot of work to do. So there wasn’t a huge difference between what we’ve been doing in practice in our county and what we needed to submit, but it was more just documenting it better. That’s correct.
Okay. So that was that was my question. Thank you very much. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Very quickly, the the private pre-K slots, do you have an idea of like where are Delta is about what was expected of us and where we’re at? I want to make sure I got that right.
Yeah. So in 22, 23, it started at we were to be at 30% for the private providers and then it increases 5% every year up until 26, 27 when it’s supposed to be 50%. And where we. Are, I would say we are. That. That’s what I’m asking. Well below. Single digits. Yes.
Thank you. All right. All right. Do you want to add something to that? You know. Okay. Thank you so much as well. I appreciate you. Thank you. All right, Schwartz. Legislative update, please, on the policy review process. I’m sure just yes. Provide a short time to say it. Afternoon. Good afternoon.
Middle of the session. As you know, my report is on line on board, as I indicated in that report that I posted this morning, that there were over 3000 bills that have been filed in Annapolis that’s been now updated to about 3500 bills. So bills are flying in, but this is probably
The end of what we’ll be expecting this session and a number of bills. I’m not going to go through all 3500 bills right now. What I’ll do is just highlight just four bills particularly, but then I can certainly address any of the bills you’d like to discuss.
The first bill I’m going to discuss is the bill I mentioned at the last meeting. We had House Bill 151 concerning the vacancy on the Board of Education for Charles County. That bill was put in by Delegate Patterson. I reviewed it at the last meeting,
But basically what it does is set a timeline for filling vacancies on our board. We asked Delegate Patterson to put some amendments on to that bill and when she testified at the hearing and she was the only person testifying, she did indicate that there would be amendments coming.
So we’re hoping that those amendments will be filed rather soon. That bill has not been voted on yet by. House Ways and Means Committee. Not surprising, because so far no bills have been voted out of committees yet. They’re still trying to go through the initial hearings on bills.
The next bill I’m going to discuss is Bill 1426, Senate Bill 1102, which deals with the blueprint. These this bill includes the amendments that the AIB has proposed to the blueprint. I will preface that by saying that leadership has basically given the message that the blueprint is not going to be changed.
It’s moving forward. We’re on a track, moving forward, not going to back down. But the AIB has indicated if there are some tweaks to the bill, to the law that are required, including fortunately we think extending several deadlines that are currently in place. That bill we think is necessary.
I’m hoping Bill does move despite leadership’s message, because what the bill does is I think strengthens the blueprint, doesn’t weaken it. House Bill 694, Senate Bill 482 is the governor’s proposal. I want to read the title because it’s an interesting title. Governor’s Office for Children Engaging Neighborhoods, organizations, unions, governments and Households. Enough.
All those letters, enough grant program. It’s the enough act of 2024. I bring this bill forward not because it’s a huge amount of dollars, it’s a $15 million grant program. But on the other hand, this is a $15 million program proposed by the governor.
We’re not expecting that there’s going to be a lot of bills passed this session with a huge fiscal note, because as you’ve been hearing, the state is trying to put more impacts onto their future budgets. But when the governor proposes bills like this, that’s overarching. We’re expecting this to move forward.
It does have a potential impact on public schools because grants could apply to us. But nonetheless, this bill, I’m assuming, will pass in some form that and the final bill I’m going to bring up at this time is House Bill 1115, Senate Bill 1026 County Board of Education Budgets. Notice
It’s called the Transparent C in Education Spending Act. This is a bill that McCall has initially proposed. To make our budgets more transparent. We have to put things on our website. For example, concerning our budget. I think our budget process is very transparent, as are those around the state.
But the particular issue on bringing forward this bill is a particular concerning nonrecurring, I’m sorry, concerning transfers between in a category, a budget, budgetary transfers. I’m saying that not clearly transfers between categorical parts of the budget. We have to get permission from the county government to make transfers between the major categories.
Right now what we do is we make sure that we’re spending our money appropriately and we ask the county government, when necessary, the county commissioners, for approval for transfers that were necessary to make our budget work. What this bill does is says that we can’t make the transfer
Until we get permission from the county government. That’s a little different, and I think that’s something that Mabe is looking to amend out of this bill. But there is a provision that actually would be very helpful concerning inter category transfers and that would allow us to transfer up to 1%
Within that category without needing county government approval. Actually, it would be very helpful. So this bill is a good bill, bad bill in some ways and made them partizan. We’re taking the position of support with amendments to try to amend the bill to hopefully take out that provision about getting prior approval
From the county government for those transfers. Those are the bills I’m going to discuss other bills. I can certainly try to answer questions about this. Thank you. There any questions, Miss Smith and then Miss Tams? Very brief. House Bill 694. Do we know if school systems will be the eligible
For those grants or that it’s yet to be determined? It’s the the bill talks about who can apply for the grants. Among the partners in the program can be unions, law enforcement, small businesses, local governments and school systems. So there could be partnerships to get these grants to make to address
Poverty issues within those counties. And if you need any assistance with these bills, I happen to know the PRISM legislative chair so I can speak to her if you’d like. Well, and and we are. I was volun told. If we. Knew who they. Were. Well, and Mr. Lucas and Ms..
Morley are members of the made legislative committee. We had a two hour, 15 minute meeting yesterday with Mabe to go over not all 3500 bill, certainly, but a lot more bills. And I’ve discussed in great detail and those meetings are open to any board member wants to attend. But Mr. Lucas and Ms..
Morley represent our interests well there. Thank you. Thank you. The bill, I guess, is 115 1115 you just spoke about, I think on the heels of the way we’re doing our Oracle ERP implementation, that we really need to impress upon them the importance of having some flexibility to categorize, to move money
Within the categorizations, because Ms.. Acton is probably over there like, yes, please help me. It is really important the way we line item get money and in the system. So we do need to press upon the importance of. Sometimes it’s execution, sometimes is systematic, and we need to marry the two
So that we are not overtaxing our staff or the system because it will become costly if we have to do configuration changes because we have to do money movement. So I’d just like to put a plug in for that if we think about the importance of that. So thank you. So thank you.
Yeah, Just a quick follow up question to Ms.. Thomas’s point. Are any potential penalties mentioned if you don’t you know, if you take the you know, is better to ask for forgiveness than to request permission on the in a category changes. So as with many of our laws
Are the penalties not built into the law itself? The penalty is that the State Department of Education, potentially the General Assembly, could ultimately withhold funding from us for violating state law. That’s very, very, very rare. And it would never get to that point, certainly. Okay.
But we would never we don’t violate the law. We follow the law regardless of how onerous it may be. And so I think that’s that’s the impact of of the current proposal here. Okay. That would be difficult to follow. Thank you for that very question, Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Ms.. Morley.
Again, on the same bill, I just want to make sure I understand. So right now, for any inter category transfer, we we send communication to the commissioners. Is that true for every county? Is that require. It’s state law, Correct. For all counties. Okay. So I’m sorry,
But just to say that the way that individual counties implement that with their county commissioners, county councils or county government may be slightly different. There might be some differences, but that law is a state law for all counties. Okay. And so, again, the the big thing here is that you’d
Actually have to get permission or not permission. But but you did have to get permission. You have you have to the commissioners would actually have to vote on it before we. Would have to. Have executed any of that funding. And that is not what we do now. Is that true? Correct. Okay.
I mean, we just have, as you said, I think maybe, you know, you in a meeting may is pushing back on that. And we’ve never had an issue with with, you know, communicating with the commissioners. And I certainly wouldn’t want to see I mean, 1%
There was discussion yesterday about making that number higher. I would advocate against doing that. I think for for a lot of reasons. I think, you know it forces everyone out that they’re already not doing a good job. But to to design a budget, that that’s an accurate budget. Right. And you have gotchas.
But, you know, I think 1% something a lot of people could live with. I just want to make sure I understood that. And for the board sake and the public sake as well. Thanks. And there is a provision just very briefly about that 1%
That says we can exceed that 1% if we have some reason to think that not following that provision would result in loss of opportunity. So if we’re really in need to make right right away. So that would also help us out, right? Yeah. And I do remember. Yeah. I’m sorry. And then Mr.
Swartz, his his links here are to the actual bills. And so, you know, I’ve sent you some stuff for me which actually will give you a synopsis of each bill. And then you can also see where the bill is in in the the process in Annapolis. Thanks. Okay.
I just wanted to follow up quickly the loss of opportunity. I remember the discussion. That’s literally all that says. So it’s very open ended and subject to interpretation. Yes. Thank you, Ms.. Schwartz. Anything else around the legislative update? No. Okay. Mr. Schwartz, we have the policy review process. Please.
Current board policy 8230 is very short. It says the board shall review all policies as the board deems necessary. The board’s goal is for each policy to be reviewed at least once every four years in order to ensure that the policies accurately reflect the board’s vision
And meet the needs of the school system. So that’s the goal. It’s not a requirement. It’s a goal. What we do, and we’ve done the past and of course this is the board’s process, but what we’ve done in the past as a board is we’ve reviewed policies through their series.
Each series of policies we’ll review separately. And there are currently nine series of policies, 1000 series of community relations, 5000 students and 7000 new construction. So each series talks about a particular area of our policies, and we review those as a series. Now, not all series are treated are equal.
Some series have very few policies, others have a lot of policies. And the last time we reviewed policies as a series was in March of 22, we finished the 7000 series. But there are some series that go back to 2017 that have not been reviewed,
Even though we have a goal of doing it every four years, it’s been a little longer. And the reason why we’ve delayed those reviews is because at the end of that year cycle with those particular policies, the board at the time recognized that there was a change coming from Annapolis
To reconfigure the board, to expand the board, and that most of the board members at the time decided they weren’t running. So they didn’t want to revise all the policies just for a new board to come in and say, No, that’s not what we want. So they left it to you.
The new board to revise and review all the policies we gave you a year. We give you a little more than a year or two. Just get settled in as a board before we really start this process and what the staff is, is to start the process of reviewing these policies
By series and two of the series that are the oldest, the least the last, the most distant reviewed was the were the 5000 series and the students and the 6000 dealing with instruction. Now, those two happened to be two of the longer, larger series anyway,
But those could be the first two that staff would recommend you tried to deal with initially. And the other series can follow that. That’s going to be a lengthy process that we we’ve done it in the past was for the chair to appoint different committees
To look at those series, to work with staff, to come back with recommendations as a whole. Here’s the entire series with all the policies, and to do that individually with those policies. So different committees would look at individual series again. The last time we did it for those policy series took
Probably six, seven months. It’s just a long process because there are a lot of policies within those particular series. So I’ll turn it back to the chair. If that’s the interests of the board, the chair can work with the superintendent and and start that process.
And thank you, Mr. Does, exactly what I’m going to do. So the 5000 series was last reviewed, revised in August of 2017 and the 6000 that deals with students and it’s quite lengthy a day leave that might be the longest one. And then the 6000, which deals with instruction,
Was last revised in February of 2017. So I ask the board to do two. Please email me, which You’d like to serve on other students or instruction and I will assign. And as Mr. Schwartz said, realistically, this is going to take at least six months.
So are there any questions or who I’m not sure who had their hand up first? Mr.. Mr.. LUCAS Okay. Yeah, sure. I mentioned COVID too. That kind of interruption of the reviews. Yeah. So we can’t have any more than fill in the blank people serve.
Yeah, that number is well, I guess is six because. Student Board member It’s six. We don’t want more than six because once you get a quorum of the board then that is the board. Yeah. Would have the board at that time. It’s really committee of the looking at it initially.
So what for. It that that’s an option or another suggestion however you’d like to do it. You could you could pick a policy series and assign a chunk of that policy series to two three different people having never done it before, You might you might get something done a little quicker that way.
They’re focusing on a one policy series, and because a lot of those meetings do need to occur during the day, at least in the beginning when staff is working. The other thing I wanted to say is, and I don’t know if the capabilities of board docs,
But what always frustrate me is that we never had an archive of the old policies. So I think, you know, whether it’s on board docs or somewhere else, I think it would behoove the board to to see the policies as they are now, save them somewhere
Because you can say, we revised it, we revised it. Well, one, you don’t know, you don’t know what if you really revised it Because we we put the revised date on everything in the series, whether we fixed the period or had any substantive change or not.
So I think would just be good if we could archive the existing policies that in some fashion so that we could, if it’s on board or somewhere else, so that we can come back and look. Anybody can come back and look. And I thank you for that suggestion.
I will note that policies that have a revised date and a review date are slightly different. Those that have just a review date means that the last time it was reviewed, nothing was changed. But most of the policies are revised. You said there’s a typo, a period or just a word change.
That’s a revision and our policies are maintained in an archive, but it’s not public facing. It’s not something that the public has access to, not that we’re trying to hide. If it’s not, we don’t want to confuse the public. The policies we have are the ones that they can pull up on docs.
But I agree with you, there’s there’s value in those old policies. And as a matter of fact, staff, myself included, often go back to look at how the policy was to see what was changed and why it was changed. And we we have. That is a history of perfect. Thank you.
That’d be a great starting point. Thank you for that, Mr. Schwartz. Mr.. Thank you, Chair. Merely just to stress some recommendations, having served on now two committees here on this board, one being renaming Mr. Hancock, the other being the handbook with Mr. Lucas definitely found some of the benefits to be
Perhaps having them be a sequential one. Sorry, not sequential but concurrent review. So rather than having me, you know, the definition of those two words, I don’t need to explain that. That would be my recommendation for not to be sequential, but concurrent. Mean concurrent of 5006 thousand. Yes, that’s what I.
Am looking at. The 5000. So well, looking at both series, I mean, there may be some overlap between where it’s the fourth, fifth policy that draws on language from the first. So there will have to be, you know, a pool of people sort of working on that jointly,
Looking across all of the policies within that series. I my recommendation, I could not stress SharePoint more than anything else. We cannot have random versions of documents floating in various people’s know inboxes or wherever. So definitely having a SharePoint file. Thank you. If folks need assistance,
This is no shade, but if folks need assistance in terms of how SharePoint works, absolutely happy to have an offline conversation just to make that process more smooth as well as track changes what that actually looks like. Happy to have a conversation about that as well. I also recommend appointing perhaps
2 to 3 board members per series just to have folks who are looking chunking it and then figuring out what the report back to this body would be. Those recommendations. Appreciate it. Thank you. This morning I like to know so we can serve well.
I would recommend that we be able to serve on two. I’ve heard you say either to pick one or the other. I think it would be because I would want to be on both. So that’s just something I throw out there. I don’t know how that works at all, the
How we’re going to do both at the same time and all that. But that’s. Just my. Recommendation or preference that I could on both possible. Yeah. Again, I think everybody’s points, I think dividing a series up in the chunks for people to work on
Might work a little better if you have four or five people trying to get something along with staff that they agree on that can get a little onerous. That’s from history. So just scheduling meetings, historical perspective. I was I. Know. I mean, if you’re going to have you’re going to have
You’re going to have staff members, you’re going to have staff members there and you’re going to have if you have five board members each having an opinion. And yet it has to come back for the board as a whole but. But I think two or three is a better number.
And if everyone wants to serve, maybe give them half the series and dividing it up. Is everybody an and. That’s exactly I was going to do as I was saying five on one for the other and then divide them so they essentially would be two or three for a subgroup. Yes.
Perfect. Yeah. So appreciate it. Thank you. Because I think I agree with Mr. Smith that I think I definitely agree with Ms.. Smith concurrent would be the better option because we have a lot to get through and understand. It still has to come before the whole board anyway.
So this is just initiating the process. Okay, Thank you very much. Thank you for joining us. Appreciate it. I’m ready. Next step was me on World Down Syndrome Day. I wasn’t. Yes, me, I wasn’t inclined to read it. Has everyone had a chance to read it? Okay. Any comments or questions
As it is been on the board for a while? Just in the interest of time. Yes, sir. I don’t want to till your thunder. So perhaps I’ll go after you. It’s just a comment. Okay. Yeah. No, I wasn’t going to read it unless. You know,
As I’m assuming everyone has had an opportunity to. Yes. So I think just a few. Thank you. In terms of bringing this resolution forward, I definitely want to thank Ms.. Kramer for kind of leading the charge and gathering a host of resolutions that definitely reflect the fabric of who we are as Charles
County of a number and, the different types of students that we have absolutely want to thank the Down Syndrome Association of Southern Maryland for partnering with us to write this, ensuring that we had language correct, ensuring that we were thinking inclusively about the community and the true value of what this resolution means.
I specifically want to call out board member Booker Lewis for her dogged support around the clock, ensuring that we had language, ensuring that we were looking at a variety of different drafts from different places. It’s always great to have partner organizations who are willing to step in and say,
Let’s all work on this together to make sure it lands well and it truly captures the moment that it’s intended to capture. So I want to send those. Thank you. Very much. Appreciate them as well. Then for the public who may not know, Ms.. Kramer initially introduce some additional resolutions
For us to consider. So she and Ms.. Smith have been taking turns reaching out to different communities and writing some of these resolutions, and they have responded overwhelmingly with their support and with some language that candidly just makes our job. So literally, when I said I was going to
Read it, that’s really what I was doing. I did not write this one. They did an amazing job. So appreciate that. Ms.. I thank you. All right. Next step, Ms.. Mackie, we have a school naming school number 23. I know we’ve been waiting on this one. And thank you to the committee members
That have been able to join us this. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Joining me today is Tiara Jackson. She the chairperson of our school naming committee. And we also have two of our members here. If you want to stand ladies and wave, I have Sidney Smith is a teacher at Eva Turner Elementary School
And Cory Richardson, who is principal at Mary H. Matola Elementary School. I will publicly recognize rest of our committee members whose names are on the slide here. We had three phenomenal students from Saint Charles High School on the committee, as well as a few community
Members, a few CPS employees who were not able to come today. Again, I just want to publicly think this group of individuals for their work. Thank you. So just as a recap for the board and for the public elementary school, 23 KPS advertised and named submission process
In the fall, we received 50 name submissions. The full list is posted on our website on the redistricting page. It includes name one through 50. 33 names were for a person. Ten geographic feature. Seven for names other than a person or feature. There is an asterisk at the bottom
Which is highlighted at the top with the number 50. Not all of the 50 submissions met Board policy. So just again, to recap, the school naming process is guided by board policy 7230 in which the names must be a name of a geographic feature or location
In Charles County name other than a person or geographic feature or location that the board deems appropriate. As long as that name does not conflict with current board policies. Values. Objectives. Name of a person. As long as that person has been deceased for at least ten years and has made
A demonstrated contribution to the community, whether it’s a county level, state level, national level. So tasks of the Committee. Ms. Jackson, do you want to take this slide? Okay. So the thing that we did was we went through all 50 names and we made sure that they met that policy 7230
And we any names on the list that did not meet that? After that, we went through and we did a process of elimination. Just to make sure that we didn’t miss any names. And then we ensured that we did. Excuse me. That they were. All just consistent with
What they all explained to us the policy should be. And we did that. We did some research, third parties, and just made sure that every single name that we left on the lists met the policy. And I will share to that. This is my third experience serving as a liaison
To a school naming committee. And this committee took a vote on every single name on the list. Wow. So I wanted to share that. Right. So the school name recommendations, Mr. Jackson can talk a little bit more about the process, but the committee came up with three recommendations to present to you.
The first is Margaret Jamison Thornton Elementary School, second choice, Ronald McNair Elementary School. And third, I don’t want to say choice. I use word incorrectly is White Plains Elementary School. These names are in no particular order. This is the recommendations from the group.
So the next few slides give a little bit of background on each name. I want to read them because one or two of them are pretty lengthy. But Margaret Jamison Thornton was a career educator here in Charles County. She completed her studies at Bell Mountain Junior
Senior High School, where she graduated as a junior. She came back to Charles County. I believe she started her teaching career at Fort Tobacco Elementary School. She also taught at Indian Head and Gail Bailey. I believe her background was early childhood education, elementary school level.
Upon her retirement, she and her husband opened a business in the community that’s still open today. She passed away in 1987. Okay. Do you want to read through here? Yes. Okay. And then the next one would be Ronald McNair. He was a physicist. He specialized in laser research.
He also joined Nassr in the late seventies. He became the second African-American to reach serving as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle, the Challenger. He was one of seven crew members who were killed during the Challenger explosion. He was nationally recognized for his work in the field of laser physics and received
Many honorary degrees. Fellowships and accommodations. However, his achievements were not limited to academia. He was a sixth grade black belt and accomplished saxophonist. Dr. McNair and his wife, Cheryl, had two children. He was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor as well. He Also was
Also not one here, but he also, when he was younger, wasn’t allowed to write books at the library. But he didn’t let that did scare him. He continued to want to read as much as he could and learn as much as she could. So school named after him would be amazing. Thank you.
And then last. Easy. White Plains Elementary School. Because the school will be located in Plains. A difficult one. I know. My. And the address is in White Plains. Barrowland. Basically the drive. I don’t know if the sign is up yet, but it is White Plains, so I can quickly run through next steps
Or you can run through next steps. So on our next. Steps, where I was first. Introduced to you are the names that we had chosen, but we also would like to get feedback from the community. So we wanted to do a public townhall, a virtual one, and introduce those names
And get some feedback from the public. We also are going to put out a survey and it will be live on Wednesday as well. Okay, Nice. Any questions, comments. Any feedback from any board members? Okay. Miss Brenda Thomas and Miss Cramer, I happen to know Miss Margaret Jameson personally. So I know
She was really, you know, into education and her family’s still into education, so I know they will be very proud that that happened. And I like knowing her for what? She knew me for a while and almost had the same last name before I got married. Well, yeah. Great job. Thank you.
Thank you, Miss Cramer. Thank you, madam. Just briefly, I just wanted to thank you for your service to this committee. I know it takes up time of yours and being. And as a mom, I totally get how that can be difficult to come by. So I just want to thank you for this,
Because it’s really important that we’ve heard from our community about, you know, being intentional, being, you know, sort of just being intentional about what we express as our values as a school system. And naming schools really does fall under that category. And so I just want to thank you again
For the work that you’re doing and continuing to do. And I appreciate the the name suggestion. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Kramer. Any other comments, Mr. Lucas? All right. And likewise. Thanks for your work on this. Really do appreciate it. So were these you said you voted on each name.
Where were these? Because when I first looked at it, I said, well, looks like they they did a place. Someone that is from the county and someone that was from outside of the county. But it doesn’t sound like you did that.
Or maybe you did or but or are these just the three highest vote recipients or how did how did you arrive at these three? As we dig down it and remove names from the list that we all voted on, those the three never left. Okay.
Did they receive the highest votes on the committee? Okay. Thank you. I think there was conversation to. If I’m remembering the last meeting, I don’t mean to interject here, but I think the committee talked about possibly moving forward the name of a person as well as the name of a place.
The 50 submissions were really broadly, as you see, the slide that had the breakdown, the 33 I don’t know if it was the 14. My math may be off, but I think a goal of the committee was to try to bring forward at least the name of a person,
The name of a geographic location, not three names of persons or three names of geographic regions. Okay. Thank you very much. Any other comments or questions? Go ahead. Thank you. This was great. And also thank you for a person who have not from Charles County breaking it down
And let me know the importance of the people that you selected. So thank you all very much. Yes, I have to echo that. Thank you so much for your work and thank you to the community members. I’m very pleased that we got 50 name submissions,
Even if all of them didn’t quite fall into our guidelines, that that shows there’s a lot of interest. And that’s and I mean, why we’ll be voting on this in another couple of months. And how exciting is this? Quite a charge. So you again. Much appreciated. Thank you. Marquis. miss. Well.
I’m trying to catch you before you went into your. my. My closing echo of what everyone has said. Thank you for your time. Thank you for all the work that you put into this. Recognizing that it’s, you know, other duties as assigned. You’re a parent, administrator, teacher, like we have our day job.
So definitely you giving up your time in this way to the county. I want to thank my fellow board members who voted for this policy revision. Definitely want to thank Mr. Hancock. I feel a proud mama and papa to see the policy play out in this way.
Very looking forward to hearing more about the town halls you hope to hear, to hold talks in the hope to hold instead of what additional information you’ll gather from the community relative to these three recommendations. So thank you for even taking that step. So much appreciate it. Appreciate you ladies.
For everyone, look at us. We actually ended up being ahead of time. All right. We made up some time. So we are on break until 430. Thank you, ma’am. Yes, I know. All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome. this is our favorite part of the day
Where we get to do the resolutions or recognitions. So we will first start with our resolutions finding performing arts. We have accepting. there you go. Step forward. Thank you, sir. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Andrew Barnhart and Structural Specialist for Fine and Performing Arts. Today, Mr. Mark Pavlik,
The choir teacher at Westlake High School, will be accepting the board resolution for fine and performing arts. Mr. Havlicek exhibits all the qualities of an outstanding arts educator. He’s been recognized around the county and around the state, and it’s my privilege to introduce him to you and to accept the resolution.
Hey, you got to keep front and center for this. Yeah. Yes. Center. Center. You’re like, I was born for this. I love it. I mean. For my class of Mr.. You know. Okay, So resolution from the Board of Education at Charles County, Fine and Performing Arts Month.
Whereas the fine and performing arts are essential to the education of all children in a comprehensive education in music, theater, visual arts, digital media and dance provides a powerful way of engaging children in learning and improving student achievement. And. WHEREAS, the fine and performing arts are recognized as being necessary
For the full development of all children. And. WHEREAS, Charles County Public Schools has made it a priority to expand the fine and performing arts program. And. WHEREAS, a number of music, theater, visual arts, digital media and dance activities are regularly scheduled for the month of March.
Now therefore be resolved that the Board of Education of Charles County and the Superintendent of Schools designate that March 2024 be observed as fine and Performing Arts month and give their full support to quality school music theater and visual arts programs for all children and our future.
And be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be inserted in the minutes of the Board of Education by Authority of the Board of Education of Charles County this 13th day of February 2024, and it signed Dr. Maria Navarro, Superintendent, Mr. Yarnell Morley, Esquire, Chairperson Thank you. And yes. Classroom
In my life. I was a thespian. Tristan. Tristan I know I can recite. All. The. Components. Right. Congratulations, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Fantastic. Thank you so much. Next step we have read across Charles County. Hello. Good afternoon. I’m Kim Hudler, the content specialist for elementary
English Language Arts for Charles County. And it is my pleasure to introduce Rashawn to James and Mahogany, first grade teacher and first grade student from Wade Elementary. Yay! her outfit is so cute. you look adorable. I love your sweater. Mahogany. Very fitting. Resolution Board of Education of Charles County Read across
Charles County, February 13th, 2024. Whereas the National Education Association has proclaimed March 1st, 2024, as a read across America event to focus on reading to children. And. WHEREAS, The State of Maryland has initiated a read across a maryland campaign to motivate students to read frequently and independently. And. WHEREAS, the Charles
Commissioners have provided significant funding and support to improve reading achievement of students. And. WHEREAS, the Charles County Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools and the Education Association of Charles County have designated reading proficiency for all students as the first priority in the school system. Now, therefore, be it resolved that this body
Enthusiastically endorses read across Charles County to be celebrated in schools on March 1st, 2024, as a direct participation in the Read Across America event to show a commitment to make Charles County’s children the best readers in the world and be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution
Be inserted in the minutes of the Board of Education of Charles County by the Order of the Board of Education of Charles County this 13th February 2024. Signed Dr. Maria Navarro, Superintendent of Schools. Danielle Morley, Esquire, Chairperson. To step ahead, identify. All right, Thank you so much.
And next up is Women’s History Month. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. My name is Jack Tuttle. I am the social studies specialist for Charles County Public Schools. And with. Me this afternoon to represent and to. Recognize the month of March as women’s History Month. Caprice James, chair of the Charles County Commission for Women.
And Betsy Adebolajo, member Charles County. Commission for Women. 18th. Afternoon. All right. Resolution Board of Education of Charles County Women’s History Month, February 13, 2024. Whereas, the Congress of the United States and the Legislator of Maryland have designated the month of March and Women’s History Month and the Maryland State Department of Education.
The Maryland Commission for Women and the Charles County Commission for Women are celebrating the Maryland Women’s History Month with the theme Women who Advocate for Equity, diversity and inclusion. And. WHEREAS, the Board of Education of Charles County joins in recognizing and promoting March 2024 as Women Histories Women’s History Month,
And acknowledges that women continue to play a significant role in history and have achieved distinction in careers and traditional family roles. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education of Charles County and the superintendent of Schools join the nation, state and county in giving recognition to women, agreeing that women
Have historically provided positive role models to students and encourage our public schools to infuse instructional learning activities to incorporate the contributions of women throughout the school year and provide appropriate ways to observe and celebrate Women’s History Month and be it further resolved that a copy of the resolution
Be inserted in the minutes of the Board of Education by order of the Board of Education of Charles County this 13th day of February 2024, signed by Dr. Maria Navarro, superintendent of Schools, and you now Morley, Esquire, Chairperson Well, I’ll tell you what I think the picture
That you were blessed to be in that picture. wow. Wow. Just it’s like I know, I know. We have some extra special guests. Welcome and good afternoon. All right. So if we could please have. Dr. Jones, you’re going to do okay. Thank you. Go ahead. Anticipation. Well, good evening, Board Chair Moore.
Lee. Board members. Dr. Navarro. Staff, family and friends. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. This is the moment that you’ve been waiting for. Absolutely. The real reason why we are here is why we do what we do. We have assembled this evening to recognize a small sampling
Of the greatness we have in the young people we serve tonight. I am pleased to present to you nine students who have been identified by their school principals as exemplary student models in the following areas academic achievement, personal responsibility, and career readiness. Students being recognized this evening are Farrah
And Gizelle LeBlanc, 12th graders from North Point High School. Chloe Jones eighth grader from Madwoman Middle School. Aiden Latimore. Eighth grader from the Phenix International School of the Arts episode. Anaya Rogowski fifth grader from Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School. Janay Turner, fifth grader from Mary B Neill Elementary School. Emma Sandberger.
Fifth grader from Daniel of Saint Thomas. Jennifer Elementary School, who known as rat fifth grader from Dr. Samuel, a mud elementary school, and Pressley Ferguson, fifth grader from William B, Wade Elementary School. These outstanding students will be recognized in this order by their school principals this evening.
Principal Dan Capel is here from North Point High School. Principal Sonya Blue is here from Madwoman. Principal Roy Dimitri Sermons from Persona is here. Principal Deidre Barnett at Metro Elementary School is here. Principal Anthony Carroll from Neill is here. Vice Principal Assistant Principal Teyana Taylor is here representing Mr.
Jackson from Jennifer Elementary School. I do believe Portia Parker is here from Dr. Mind. I didn’t see you. Parker Unruh. Parker’s back there. All right. And Principal Miller from Wade is here with us tonight as well. We also have with us, as you can see, many parents
Relative lives and teachers who have come out to support these exceptional students tonight. So before we begin with, those parents, relatives, teachers, family members and friends, please stand and be recognized at this time. Please stand. You are what I say. Please do that. That should have been everyone in the room
Supporting these young people. But I’ll let you slide. Now. We do need to honor those who support these young people because they work hard, but they all do it alone. So let’s get started. Please welcome to the microphone, our first principal for the evening, Mr. Caple, from North Point High School. Mr. K.
Stand up. Good evening. That evening. As principal of North Point High School, I am delighted to present Fera and Jerzy LeBlanc to the Charles County Public Schools Board of Education for Recognition as exemplary students. Both students were chosen because of their commitment to being excellent students
And for making a positive impact on our school community. Fair and Giselle take multiple advanced placement courses. Our members of our student leadership class are active members of our student group nomination. Giselle. As a member of our Varsity swim team and fair as a member of our orchestra.
Both parents Excel. Excel as students. When asked to describe their students, their teachers used phrases like amazing work ethic, a joy to have in class, model, student inquisitive spirit, positive attitude and enthusiasm for learning. Ms.. Bedelia states It was awesome to see how these two amazing minds embraced learning. Ms. Kirby adds,
Giselle is a hard working, focused, intellectually motivated student who does her best all the time. Mr. Monk states Ferrer’s calm demeanor and solid work ethic are an inspiration to her fellow students, and they contribute greatly to the overall success of the wind ensemble. Ms.. Smith adds Last year, Ferrer worked with the class
To produce an online newspaper as well as a printed version. This year, she has shifted gears and decided that in addition to creating an online paper, she wants to create a literary magazine. Ferrer and Giselle stand out as remarkable individuals who have made significant contributions to our school community.
Integral members of our student leadership groups, the Academic Eagles and M.P. Nation. Their impact on both groups achievements this year cannot be overstated. Mr. Podesta writes What sets them apart is not only their dedication to contribute, but also their humble approach. They seek no recognition despite their invaluable contribue positions, Mr. Scipione states.
They are key to the success of nomination as they are constantly contributing ideas for events. There are both always coming up with cool ideas for spirit days and sporting events and are willing to see these ideas are implemented and executed. Mr. Burton adds Farah has been an amazing addition
To the academic Eagles over the past two years. Her dedication to and to fostering inclusivity, promoting unity and creating a sense of belonging among students and staff has been instrumental in shaping the type of culture we want our school. Giselle is just a natural leader.
Giselle always has a positive contribution and great ideas. She works incredibly hard to make sure that all parts of our school are being recognized and promoted. The rarity of their selflessness, dedication to enhancing an organization without expecting anything in return is truly remarkable. While they may be twins, friends as well
Are distinct individuals, yet share a common thread and their core values. Work and work ethic. They embody the quality of selflessness, a trait that distinguishes that distinguishes them within our community. Their infectious positivity reflected in their ever present smiles remains unwavering, regardless of the challenges they may be facing. Witnessing their genuine
Joy and unwavering commitment is a privilege. Making them unforgettable. Members of our student body. I can freely state that they are students I will not soon forget. I look forward to seeing who they grow to become. I present Farah and Giselle. All right. So. So we tell the principals
They get to select one student each year. But who could argue that Mr. Capel made the right decision to select both of these young ladies? Right. All right. Please welcome to the microphone. Principal Blue from out, a woman, fiscal blue. Good evening. It is with great pleasure and honor that I present
To the Charles County Board of Education and Outstanding Matter. Woman Middle School, eighth grade student who exemplifies stellar attributes and career readiness. Chloe Jones has shown great academic achievement over the past two years. She has consistently demonstrated the ability to achieve all A’s in every subject. well, that.
Well, there there was that that that. One time she received a B in seventh grade. And as a result, that teacher has been. Removed from that. I am just kidding. Just kidding. Teachers say Chloe is self-motivated and is always willing to do more than is required. Chloe takes great pride in her work
And will often self-correct if she does not feel it is her absolute best. Moreover, she can often be seen helping her classmates with difficulties and instruction. Not only has Chloe shown great academic achievement, but she is an outstanding citizen. She cheerfully greets teachers and friends every morning
And demonstrates kindness throughout the day as a result. Chloe is well-liked by her peers. Chloe’s seventh grade math. Teacher, Mr. Smith, the provider of the B. And I quote. Chloe, is one of the brightest, kindest, determined and hardest working students that I have had in my 21 years of teaching.
I was her seventh grade math teacher and worked with her twice a week, virtually over the past summer, to help prepare her for Algebra one studies. As a result. Chloe is making straight A’s in algebra. This is a testament to Chloe’s laser focus on career readiness.
The lesson here is that Chloe experienced a few challenges with seventh grade math indicators and sought support. She wanted to be placed in algebra, so she took the assistance in the knowledge she received from Mr. Smith and has made an A on her first and second quarter report card.
Ms.. Jones, Chloe’s language arts teacher, says that Chloe is a student who leads by example. Chloe is a student I could always depend on when it comes to giving insight on text or answering complex and rigorous discussion questions. Chloe goes above and beyond to excel within her classes,
And I’m so proud of her for all that she has accomplished. I know Chloe will go on to do big and wonderful things in this life. Miss Stackhouse, the. Current algebra teacher, says Chloe demonstrates intellectual curiosity that is not often seen. Among students at her age. That’s a compliment.
She is an integral part of our classroom community. Any teacher would be grateful to share her and have her as a student. Chloe’s desire is to become a cardiologist so that she can help save lives. She told me she has her eyes set on an Ivy League school
With her two top choices being Yale and Columbia. Chloe’s personal mantra. Because I asked her what. Keeps. Driving forward? She says consistency leads to progress. Chloe has been a dedicated member of the National Junior Honor Society and the Madam Woman Middle School Orchestra. There’s no wonder that her hobbies
Are reading and playing the violin. Chloe is an outstanding student leader and citizen who justly deserves to be celebrated in the area of career readiness. Chloe Jones is one to watch as she transitions to high school next year and continues to make her mark on Charles County Public schools. Chloe Jones
Thank you, Principal Blue. Chloe, what’s your last name? Now say it with your chest. Say, Jones. That’s just a girl, said Jones over it. So. All right. No relation, but. But I don’t know. I might want to be your cousin. All right. Please welcome to the microphone. Principal sermons from persona. Principal sermons.
Come on down. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. This young man before me is Aiden Latimore. Aiden is a sixth grade student at Phenix International School of the Arts, and he’s being recognized in the area of academic achievement as well. His first in middle school and was named to the honorable.
But not just any honorable, the principal honorable. He did this an extremely rigorous program. He’s obtained truly remarkable scores in all of his assessments. He’s a remarkable honor. Why engaging in this whole new school community and the entire curriculum for Cambridge International Lower Secondary. No other school in the state of Maryland
Utilizes this curriculum and it’s extremely rigorous. And he is killing it. He is knocking it out of the park. All straight A’s and everything that he does. He’s a member of the band. He’s also in the calls for digital literacy, an elite class, as well as the museum studies course here at Persona.
He takes time and diligence to deal with his peers, solve their problems, and also just a genuine, nice kid. He’s that smiling face When you walk in the morning. When he leaves, he’s waving and smiling when he leaves. This is a very happy kid.
I’m super, super proud of him and everything he’s done. He’s a truly model student and a point of pride for both his family and our school community. He is the embodiment of a true persona. Scholar. Congratulations, sir. Thank you. Principal sermons. Please welcome to the microphone. Principal Barnett from Mitchell Elementary School.
Principal Barnett. Good evening. Good evening. On behalf of Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School staff, it is my distinctive pleasure to present to you Anna Rogowski as our student that exemplifies academic achievement and is a fifth grade student in Mr. Till’s class. She has attended Walter J. Mitchell since the first grade
And has since earned Principal’s Honor roll every quarter. She was identified for gifted services in the third grade and on a level four on both third and fourth grade, and enjoys reading various novels, especially those in realistic in the realistic French fiction genre. Her favorite subject in school is math,
Which is evident in her participation of sixth grade math virtually as a fifth grader. She finds math fun and loss to solve problems in her head and relate them to real world situations and has a quiet but strong spirit and exemplify by showing kindness to others.
She is quick to help others and classmates, teachers and classmates and is a wonderful leader in personal responsibility and is a member of our safety Patrol math team. Men and women, Mitchell Clubs, and as well as serving as an art helper in her free time. In the free time that she does have.
She enjoys playing soccer and exploring photography, doing conversations with. And as she has shared her goal of becoming a photographer. I have no doubt that with her hard work and dedication, she will have no problem pursuing her dreams for these reasons and is worthy of this academic achievement. Recognition. Congrats, Mr.
Gorski. See, I told you I would get your name right. All right. Please. Welcome to the microphone. The principal from Neo Elementary School principal Carol. Tony. Carol, come on down. There we go. That smile. There we go. Good evening. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you Janay Turner, a fifth grade student
At Mary B New Elementary School, being recognized for academic achievement. Janay is a role model personified. She sets an example daily for everyone and not just her fellow students. Janay has a strong work ethic and a passion for learning. Janay is a bright and independent young lady.
She says she gets that from her mother. Janay is driven to succeed. She is motivated to be the best she can be in all that she does. Janay says her father pushes her to be the best person she can be, and she is very thankful for her strong support system.
I asked Janay, why do you like school? She says she enjoys writing and wants to prove her potential and the story. I asked her if I could share the stories. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but a couple of weeks ago she was not feeling well. Mom came and picked her up
And Janay started crying in her office. Why are you crying? She just didn’t want to leave school. She didn’t want to miss school. That’s how dedicated she is to her education. So I embarrassed. So as you can see, that is someone that we can follow.
Janay also says she likes her teacher, which is a good thing. Her teacher, Ms.. Key, talks incessantly about Janay and how she brightens the classroom. The future is limitless for Janay, and we are proud to have her a part of the maybe now family. Janay is extremely deserving
Of being recognized for academic achievement. I may be near elementary school. All right. Thank you, Principal Carroll, please now welcome to the microphone, the assistant principal again from Jennifer Elementary School. Ms.. Taylor, please welcome Ms.. Taylor. Good evening, everyone. Evening. The staff of Jennifer
Elementary School recommends Emma Sham Bahgat as a student being recognized for career readiness. Emma is a dedicated fifth grade student, currently enrolled at Daniel of Saint Thomas, Jennifer Elementary School. Throughout her academic journey, Emma has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance. She has earned high scores across various subjects,
Immense academic achievements highlight her strong work ethic and enthusiasm for learning. Emma is a valuable and promising student at Daniel of Saint Thomas, Jennifer Elementary School. In the areas of academics, Emma has earned all A’s in third grade, fourth grade with the exception of one be in writing.
But that just made her better because right now, so far in fifth grade, she has all A’s. Emma receives the gifted and talented curriculum in reading. Emma maintains a busy and enriching extracurricular calendar. She participates in multiple activities and clubs in and outside of school. These school clubs and activities include
Math Team participant 22, 20, 22. 23. School year Math Team Participant 2023 2024. School year Girls. That code School orchestra member Trump. She plays the trombone at Jennifer. Her extracurricular activities include Girl Scouts, guitar lessons outside of school weekly, multiple years of dance, swim lessons, participation and fundraisers for Oxon Hill Food Bank.
And this is just a quote from one of your teachers, Emma Miss Davis, our technology facilitator at Jennifer Shared. Emma Shambala is one of the students that every teacher wishes they had. You want the entire class of students just like her. She is respectful. She is helpful, quiet, interested, and works very hard.
No matter what is going on around her. She always finds something in the lesson to be interested in and is willing to help her peers. Jennifer’s principal, Mr. Jackson, asked Emma, What do you want to be when you grow up? Emma pondered this question and confidently answered a lawyer.
She’s he shares that Emma shines in every way at Jennifer. She is scholarly about her work. She demonstrates honor and integrity with respect to her learning environment. Emma never gives up. She shows empathy to her classmates and practices excellence in all that she does. I present to you Emma Burger, who is Jennifer’s
Student representative for Career readiness. And what did we expect? Her day as a Philadelphia Eagles Day Eagles fan. There you go. You can love that. I’ll be all right. Please welcome to the microphone, the principal from Dr. Mudd. Please welcome Principal Parker, Portia Parker. Good evening. Good evening.
CONAN Axelrod is a fifth grade student at Dr. Samuel Mudd Elementary School and is being recognized in the area of academic achievement. Hannan has attended Dr. Mudd since first grade and has earned recognition for her academic achievement and personal responsibility by maintaining honor roll every quarter and consistently demonstrating personal responsibility characteristics.
Hannan’s current teachers Ms.. GREENE and Ms.. Ford have shared that Hannan is a well-rounded student who is considerate and respectful to all peers and adults. Ms.. Ray is the art teacher and Mesa coach, shared that Hannan always shows kindness to everyone. She is always eager to learn. Strives to do her best
And shares her gifts and talents with everyone. She is patient Khan and avoids conflict with others. Ms.. Dos Hannan’s fourth grade teacher, showed Hannan is a very pleasant student and as a very calm and gentle nature that made being her teacher a pleasure. She works really hard in school and in the clubs
That she has been a part of at Dr. Mudd. Hannan has always seen that, has always been seen giving her best and being accepting of any help that is offered. Although Ms. Doss is no longer her teacher, she still looks forward to Hannan getting greeting her with a hug each morning
And giving her a quiet way when she sees her in the hallways. Ms.. Butler Hannan’s fourth grade reading teacher, shared her knows accomplishments as a students are commendable, but also how caring of a friend she is to others in the building is shown daily. Hannah’s teachers know that she can count.
They can count on her to give 100%. Always and uphold Dr. Mudd’s three R’s to be respectful, responsible and ready to learn. As shared, Hannan has a quiet but strong spirit. She is a member of the Mesa and Math team. She participates in the Dr. Mudd Wash Dragons after school program
Along with pass book clubs offer throughout the years of Dr. Moon. Hannan is a member of our band and plays the flute. When Hannan grows up, she would like to become an artist in her free time. Hannan enjoys playing with her parakeets and watching her favorite TV shows.
For all these reasons, Hannan is more than worthy for academic achievement recognition. Thank you. Congratulations. And Hannan does all that with a big smile on her face. Right. All right. So please welcome to the microphone, the last principal for the evening, Principal Miller from William B Wade. Mr. Miller. We travel really well
That way, so don’t mind them in the back. It is my great pleasure to present Miss Presley Ferguson, who is a fifth grader at William B Wade Elementary, and she’s being recognized in the area of academe Extremement. She’s been a William B Wade since she’s been in kindergarten.
And wherever she has gone, she has left a lasting impression on every teacher and classmate that has been with her. If you talk to anyone of her teachers that she’s had, they’ll say Presley is a very dedicated and hardworking student. Presley will do anything for anybody at any time.
She’s the kind of student that puts 100% of herself into any project that she takes on and is not satisfied till it’s done to the best of our ability. She’s an academic all star. She consistently models work and perseverance in every classroom setting. Mr. Webster, a fifth grade teacher, describes Presley
As an amazing student who always strives to do her best. Despite the challenges that often come with learning, she always perseveres in the classroom. For her, it’s not just about her ability to learn, but that her other classmates are learning as well. During classroom instruction, she will show
Great compassion for others by assisting her peers. Presley’s favorite subjects in school are math and P.E.. When I asked her why she what she liked so much about math, she responded, When I get to dive in or do something hard, it sparks my creativity. I just an MP.
We just have a chance to have fun and play. But most importantly, she says, we get to learn and grow together as a team. When Presley is not impressing everyone with their academic abilities or award winning personality, which you’ll get to hear in a little bit,
You may hear singing and chorus working in the library during her recess time, writing in an article for a school newspaper, lending a hand with the Green team or in the hallways where she actually she’s now outside and her safety patrol station. She was braving the elements this morning,
Standing next to me in the rain. So hair looks great. Now, I. Didn’t lose a single girl. Outside of school. She’s a member of the Girl Scouts and enjoys hanging out with her family, drawing and just watching a little TV. Just a little. It’s because of these reasons I’m proud to present
Miss Presley. Ferguson All right. Thank you, Mr. Miller. And Presley was braving the elements and didn’t lose a curl. He said not a single one. All right. Yeah. So when I first came up, I said a small sampling of the greatness we have and the young people we serve. And for sure that’s
What she you’ve her well seen and been introduced to this evening. And so I’m going to turn it over to you two to have some confirmation discussion with this group. All right. Thank you. Michael. Thank you, Dr. Jones. And let me first say how proud we are,
Sincerely proud of every single one of you. The oldest person here is only in 12th grade. And look at what you’ve accomplished in my hand. Got tired from trying to write everything and keep up. So keep doing what you’re doing. Let me first say that
This is the absolute highlight I can safely say for all of us, because we get to see the result of the hard work and the efforts of the village that pours into you every day. So let me say thank you. Thank you too.
And you should be proud of yourselves. I’m sure you are. So what I’ll do is I’ll share a few words, a few observations that I have, some words of encouragement. I’ll start here with Farah and work my way down to Presley, and then we’ll come back around
And you all can share whatever you like. Okay, So starting with Farah. Well, first let me say I love you to all the twins, but you have your own distinct personalities. I love that your own path. But yet I can tell that you’re close. So this is fantastic.
My daughter went to North Point for a year, so we’re honorary North Point Nation members. I would say Farah Love that you’re an orchestra. Love that you’re an orchestra. So I jokingly say, my other life, I was a thespian, but before that I was a musician.
Can’t, you know, just love all things music, song? All of it is such a great way to express yourself. Never lose that. Never, ever lose. That is, it’s essential to who you are. Love your work ethic. That that is very, very important. And that was mentioned several times.
I also wrote down infectious positivity. Don’t ever let anybody take that from you because in a world full of often negative, you remain positive, you remain focused, and you always remember your why. I’m so incredibly proud of you. I love that you started a newspaper, a literary magazine, and I quote significant contributions
That you’ve already made in 12th grade. And you also very humble and you don’t seek recognition. And we do not see that often and keep bringing those great ideas. We need all of that. It is our genuine joy that was that was used to express you, a hard worker, also very positive enthusiasm.
Awesome for learning. Definitely. That’s a lifelong skill. So at any age you can always learn anything. One of the best students of all time also very humble and selfless varsity swimmer. Excuse us very much. You need to teach me, Captain. well. Right. Get me.
Get me together, honey. All right. I love it. Okay, Captain. Yes, ma’am. That is fantastic. I’m so incredibly proud of you. Thank you, Chloe. Career readiness in eighth. Okay. Yes, ma’am. All A’s except the one time. And that was a B in math. Yes, I can absolutely relate.
I love that you self. Correct. That is an essential skill to have that you yourself realize. You know what? Maybe I need to do something a little different. And that is also something that is instinctive and you have a lot of pride in your work.
Also, help your classmates and you’re an outstanding citizen. I love that kindness was mentioned so much. That’s very, very important. Same thing I said to the other ladies, Don’t lose that. Always keep that that light. You’re consistently. I’m sorry. Your quote consistency leads to progress. Yes, absolutely.
And I’m going to see as a cardiologist, I absolutely see that. Yes. And also, I love that you play the violin because there’s a strong correlation, as you know, between music and math and, you know, just stem in general, so. Absolutely. Bravo, Bravo eight in persona
And in particularly impressive is that you’re doing not only a new curriculum, but you’re at a brand new school and I quote, You’re crushing it right? So you look. You said it look. Yeah, of course. Of course I am. Absolutely. And I know how hard principal’s honor roll is.
I know the dedication it takes to get there, and I know that you don’t do that alone. So I have to thank you. But also thank your family as they. Yeah, right. And keep that keep that for as long as you had is fantastic. I mean, it’s okay
If you can’t always get straight A’s, but when you can does not feel amazing because you like Yeah. I did that. Also in the band is said that you like to help your peers. It’s very important to be someone that’s very helpful, that you’re a model student
And you’re a point of pride for your school. So always remember that that will go with you wherever you go. Thank you, Aiden. Very proud of you, sir. Anna. Principles honor roll every quarter. As I love to read novels, I used to love to read novels, too. It opens a whole new world.
You also a problem solver. I like that. Make you like a challenge, right? Yeah. Quiet, but strong is a lot of strength in being quiet. But strong. There’s a lot of is a source of pride because you don’t always have to be the loudest in the room to be the most powerful.
So I really hope that you remember that. And you’re very quick to help. Yes. Thank you for that. We need more helpers. And you’re also a leader, a safety patrol. I did that once for a couple of months. It was not for me. It is. It is some serious work, right?
It’s a real responsibility. You also play soccer. It’s fantastic. What physician do you play? Usually like a striker or like crazy. fantastic. Most importantly, you love photography. Me too is the running joke. I’m the board photographer. I love being in pictures. I like taking I like taking pictures of anything.
So we have to talk because I want some tips. All right, Jonny. Hello. You are a role model personified. What a compliment. And only in fifth grade. That is fantastic. Also have a very strong work ethic. I love that you attribute it to your mom. Yes. Girl power.
But you also said your dad motivates you and pushes you to be the best. And it’s important that’s very, very important to have someone who believes you and believes in you that much, whoever that is. So you’re blessed to have both, you know, both your parents
That dad do that you also enjoy writing, which is great. And it broke my heart. You cried because you didn’t want to leave school. That used to be me. I still love school. That’s fantastic. And I know they miss you when you’re not there. And I love that you’re dedicated.
Always, always. Stick with that. Anything that you try to do. Bravo, Ginny. Thank you. Emma. Emma wants to be a lawyer. Yes, I was happy about that. We will talk, Emma. We will absolutely talk. Consistently demonstrate exceptional performance, and that is very hard to do.
That consistency is the key for anything that you do in life. Also a strong work ethic, which I’m not. I’m not at all surprised by very enthusiastic about learning the one be caught up in writing. It happens. You bounce back as all right. A. Strong
Reader which is, as you know, very important to be a lawyer. Also you’ve been on math team and girls code. That is fantastic. Perhaps maybe you could look into some intellectual property. We’ll talk. I got you Orchestre the trombone. You know, I played the flute for, like, 2 minutes.
It didn’t go well, but the trombone. That. What made you choose a trombone? And I just really like that. You just really like it. Yeah, That’s great. Well, I hope that you stick with it. And also, on top of all of that, you also swim and dance. Yeah. Yeah. That’s amazing.
Great job, Emma and Hanan. Am I saying it correctly? No. Hannan, I’m sorry. HANNAN academic achievement and personal responsibility. That’s fantastic. Also very, very considerate and well-rounded. I love that you’re respectful. I love that. Here. Let me say that again. I love that you’re respectful. That is fantastic.
That is someone who’s been who’s demonstrating kindness and he also very patient. That’s not easy to do. And and you avoid conflict. They described you as calm and gentle and a hard worker and you greet them. The teacher greets Mrs. your hugs. The hugs are the best they can make somebody whole day
And that you’re a caring friend and you always give 100% as is fantastic and also someone who’s in the band. You play the flute and you want to be an artist. What do you want to do? Have you thought about it now? It’s okay. It’s all right. And finally, Presley,
Who is a fifth grader who’s leaving a lasting impression already, did not lose a single curl in a storm as a safety patrol. Come on, Presley. We were I feel like. How did you do that? I love that she will do anything for anyone at any time.
That that is a definition of being a willing, giving spirit. You consistently model hard work and perseverance. fantastic. And you also want your other classmates to learn. So it’s not enough for you just to do well. You want to see other people around. You do Well, yeah, that is fantastic.
I love to hear that you always willing to help. And it really struck me that you like math because it sparks creativity and you like to do something hard, but then you like p.E. Because you like teamwork. Yeah, that’s that’s fantastic. I also love the library.
It’s one of my old hangouts and chorus. What do you do? You like to sing a lot or do you do solos what you do? I like to sing, but I also sing in church. very nice. Rose all the time. but we’d love to hear a little something later. No pressure.
All right, So we’ll start back here with Sarah, and we just work our way down. And this is your time to share whatever you like. I just want to thank not just my principal, but my staff, the staff at North Point and in my family, because they’ve allowed me
They’ve given me the space to, like, express who I am. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. I just had kind of the same thing to think all of the North Point teachers and just like counselors there, all of the administration, because that school has allowed me to like,
Be who I want to be and experience different things that I know I would never have experienced anywhere else and just have like, the best of the best teachers. And I’m in a program at North Point, and the program’s really like it’s opened my mind
To like different things I never would have even thought about. So I just want to thank my teacher. It’s fantastic. Thank you so much. Hi, Chloe. I like to think. My parents. Were always encouraging you to do strongly academics, and I’d also like to thank my teachers and principal.
And I’d also like to thank my grandpa for always telling me that nothing can get in the way of my success. Amen. It’s very great advice. Thank you for having me. I would like to thank my principal accusing me. I would also like to thank parents.
You know, I like to think to myself. Hey, man, absolutely. You did all that hard work. Bravo. Hannah. I’d like to thank all my teachers that helped me build up to this moment and, like, get stronger and all my academic achievements. And I want to thank my family, too.
And my twin sisters has always been there for me. so sweet. Thank you, Jenny. I just want to say thank you to Mayor Be now for recognizing my academic achievements. And I also want to thank my parents for making me the best person I could ever be. Thank you so much. Go ahead.
I think my parents, my siblings and my teachers and definitely my principal because they helped me in all my subjects at school. Thank you. Thank you so much. I know. I think my parents were pushing through and my teacher brought me if I get stuck on something. Thank you.
And I would like to thank my mom, my principal, for helping me get through things, my family for a living and always supporting me. My friends were always being there for me, my teachers and the entire staff at my school for helping me be the best that I can be.
I would also like to thank my Girl Scout troop for being there for me and helping me teach me about friendship and guide for getting me to the place and having the people around me. Bravo. Thank you so much. Okay, well, everyone, just stay where you are. We have some things for you.
We will be down to. Yeah, that should be for that. That every two backpacks are for the kids. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Are you. I’m sorry. I’m going the wrong way. Know, it’s. Just. Yes. Yeah. For the kids. Yeah. No. Okay. I think for those kids.
I know. Yeah, I guess I haven’t. But to have, I trust. I know. What they’re like for they’re. Like. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. A little bit of trust. I see some of them aside about they look. Down to me on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And somewhere you got
To fight with them if they want to have a special session. just have a little chat. That was fun. And that’s of. Appreciate the consideration. So I didn’t want to stand in front of Timmy either, but you know. It was like, you know. Know why, But it’s the same thing. Go right around.
And when you’re ready, you got to her a little bit more. Hey, you know, it’s good. Yeah. Yeah. We’re going to. Take a picture later on. The boys aren’t invited. Sorry. You do. I saw this was my favorite color. I didn’t even think about it, but. Yeah, right. Yeah, he had us. Yeah.
Might he get in the big. Three if they don’t do it, I can. Okay. Well, yeah, I guess. That’s the next holiday we go. I don’t have it. Okay. Yeah, Yeah. We do need the reminder. It just literally none of the women coordinated with. I found assistance from. I think it. Kind of
Congratulation guess you have you. I was here only like I got to understand, I was eight years old. was actually asking my first pitch and now I. I said look it’s okay. I didn’t expect to get out. Cert. Yeah. All of them. Yeah. I don’t I you fuck. Yep. Everybody go out.
We can get them up with them. I get something in the hand. But you know. Ben’s on the outside. Okay, so. All right. Yeah. That’s. Yeah, well, hey, the good. Why is the paparazzi done to popular? All right, so you. Got to be. The. Family’s heaviest. It’s about five. Not every five. Years.
Yeah. Shift into the just right. Yes. Is this Mike Solo Families. If they can do me, feel free to go. Your children in the lobby. That would be okay. We’ll get to the next one. I where How was my. Information. Okay. I can get David up there, but
We’re locked in the great looking at swapping out. Hey, you got. All right. I like that. All right. We probably will want a little bit into public form. It’s all right. I wanted to able to get all their shot at each match for the teachers. yes. Yeah, Yeah. You need help, Nicole,
How are ever. Okay, so that’s the proper protocol. Thing, I guess. All right. I’m no, I have. one person. I don’t know if that made it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s just. Are you feeling all right? Yeah. Okay. All right, everyone. Good afternoon. Welcome. Welcome. What? Our staff recognitions.
Yes. Good evening. My, my, can you hear me? Okay. Everyone connected to Quiet. Got a little bit, please. Thank you. We’re waiting to start our staff recognitions. Most actually. Did you see? Okay, I know. Do I have a gavel? One time there. There was a gavel here at some point.
It’s right there. It’s all right. Here we go. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Can we ask everyone to quiet down some place? Thank you so much. You just want to be able to hear the presentations. Go ahead. Thank you. Good evening. Chairperson Morley, Superintendent, Dr. Navarro, board members, executive staff, colleagues,
Friends and family. My name is Charlene Ogburn from the office of Human Resources, and it is time for us to acknowledge eight exemplary employees. First, our first recipient is Miss Erica Broadley, mathematics teacher from Mata Woman Middle School, Mr. Leland Burns, Building Service Assistant Manager from Daniel. Dr. Samuel Mudd Elementary School.
Ms.. Karen Christie Carpenter Secretary from Mary B Neill Elementary School. Ms.. Elise DICKERSON, an English teacher from North Point High School. Miskin Rowe Granger Granger, I’m sorry, second grade teacher from William B, May Waite Elementary School. Ms.. Stephanie Lane Secretary from Daniel of St Thomas, Jennifer Elementary School.
Ms.. Holly Smiggle, a learning resource teacher from Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School, and Ms.. Lauren Washington, a social studies teacher from the Phenix International School of the Arts. Our first recipient will be represented by her principal, Ms.. Sonia Blue. Today, it is my privilege and distinct honor to recognize Ms..
Erica broadly as an exemplary employee. I first met Ms. broadly about. Nine. Years ago as a bright eyed math teacher, ready to conquer middle school. Armed with four years of study student teaching experience from Scotstoun University of Pennsylvania, Ms.. Bartley quickly settled into her
Role of sixth grade math teacher at Madam Woman Middle School. Ms. broadly is an engaging and exciting teacher, and her students. Love being in her class. She helps them to conquer their fear of math by using every available strategy known to education. Ms. broadly. Quickly became acclimated. To the school.
Climate of Madam Woman and her contagious. School spirit. Led her to join the PBIS committee. Along with that responsibility, she became a sponsor for Ms.. Counts PBIS coordinator and her current role as sixth grade team leader. Ms.. Broadley continues to work passionately to create an environment where teachers love to.
Teach and students love to learn. As the coordinator of the PBIS program, Ms.. Broadley has produced amazing. Morale builders for staff. I believe the event they love the most is the staff versus. Students Dodgeball game. For obvious reasons. I would pay good. Money to educate.
Why this is a crowd favorite for both students and staff. This Ms.. Broadley completed her master’s of arts from McDaniel College and curriculum and instruction with her administration certification as an administrative intern. It was my responsibility to hone her leadership skills and prepare her to be a school administrator.
I think you would agree with me, Miss Bartley, that if there’s one thing you learned. While completing the internship, it was that. You are a multi-tasker. She completed the internship and never missed a beat. As sixth grade team leader and PBIS coordinator, Ms.. Bartley has a calm demeanor.
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her raise her voice. She is grace under pressure and not easily rattled. She is committed to the staff and students of matter woman, ensuring she is available to meet their every needs. Ms. broadly is a team. Player filling in whenever she is asked
And sometimes when she’s not asked. A few years ago, Ms.. Bartley, you remember this question whether or not teaching was her calling yet. She had a difficult group of students that year and they were not responding to the many strategies that was successful the year before. After a very long and tearful conversation.
I told her that not every year is the same, but that she should take the summer to breathe and reflect. Needless to say, Miss Buoyantly returned in August refreshed, renewed and more determined than ever that students would understand how to balance equations. I know Ms..
Bartley will make an indelible mark on this county as she continues to lead with integrity and enthusiasm, sandwiched in between a relentless dedication to student achievement. Again. And it is my honor to acknowledge. Award and celebrate you. Ms.. Erica Broadley as the 2020. 23. 24 Madam Woman Middle. School Exemplary employee.
Thank you, Ms.. Ballou. Now, I did tell the recipients they didn’t have to get up, but Ms.. Blue got me in trouble with you. I’m sorry. Next, we have Mr. Leland Burns, building service assistant manager from Dr. Samuel Mudd Elementary School, and he’s going to be represented by principal Portia Parker.
I know Mr. Burns don’t want to get up. Mr. Leland Burns. A.k.a. Mr. Lee, has been serving as a member of the building service team at Dr. Mudd for the past 17 years. He is currently the assistant manager. Throughout his tenure, he has been a dedicated and valued
Member of our school family who seeks to build relationships and make connections to both students and staff. He is loyal, supportive and above all committed to ensuring that tomorrow’s environment is safe, clean and conducive to learning. His goal is to remove barriers so that everyone can
Do their work to the best of their ability. This means if classrooms or staff need supplies, he ensures they have them and can be seen delivering resources to all areas. The building. If a cleanup is needed, he is there with the smile he gives unselfishly of himself and never ask for anything
In return. The Dr. Mudd School community has a deep respect and admiration for Mr. Lee. His dedication to the Dr. Miller Elementary School community goes unmatched. His colleagues hold him in the highest regard, and the children love him. I speak with many parents in the remarks are the same
When speaking about Mr. Lee. They speak of someone who is caring, kind, thoughtful, considerate and always positive. Miss Booth, our registrar, shared that Mr. is very kind and reliable. She knows that when she needs him to help with delivering materials to the classrooms or a clean up
In one of the classrooms, she can count on Mr. Lee. Mr. Yates shared that First and foremost. Mr. Lee has great hair. All joking aside, Mr. Lee is a hard worker, easy to work with, and builds positive relationships with the kids. Ms.. Holman shared that Mr.
Lee is always on time, completes tasks on time with a smile, and is very personable with all members of the school community. 2/5 grade shoed students shared that Mr. Lee is nice and honest. Every day they walk past Mr. Lee. Mr.
Lee will ask how their day was and wants to hear about it, whether it’s good or bad. Both students shared that he is a good friend to everyone and that he is really good at his job. Mr. Lee is committed to his job at Dr. Mudd with just about perfect attendance and interactions
With staff and students that are always positive. He takes constructive feedback and makes sure he completes to the best of his ability and up to the standards of perfection. Again, I present to you, Dr. Mudd, exemplary employee for the year. Mr. Leland Burns. Thank you, Ms.. Parker. And now, Ms..
Karen Kristi Carpenter will be represented by her principal, Anthony Carroll. Good evening. Ms.. Good evening, Karen. Better known as Kristy Carpenter, is being recognized as our exemplary employee at Mabini Elementary School. The first point of contact in the school is the main office
In the lady that Neal set the tone for the building. This carpenter is always professional when dealing with our students, our parents and our staff. Ms.. Carpenter always goes above and beyond to get the job done. She always has a smile on her face, understands
How to diffuse situations and is helpful beyond belief. I may ask Miss Carmen to complete the task for Ms.. In my doing so. I got it as easy. No problem. I may ask, how can you do this within the next couple of days? 2 minutes later is done. That’s just the type
Of attitude, professionalism that Ms.. Carpenter shows. She’s always busy doing something, answering the phone, allowing parents in the building, answering parent emails, speaking to students as in or entering the and dealing with requests from her principal. And one of the great things about Ms.. Carpenter,
She makes some of the best desserts that I’ve had, as you can tell, I’m not going to turn that. She brings that in. This carpenter is always willing to lend a hand to assist with anything and does so seamlessly. Ms.. Carpenter is well respected within the community and is more than deserving
To be honored this evening as our exemplary employee. Congratulations. Thank you, Principal Carroll. Our next recipient is Ms.. Elise, and she’ll be represented by Principal Daniel Cable. It is my privilege to present Ms.. Elise DICKERSON for recognition as an exemplary employee since 2016 when she came to North Point High School.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with and supervise her in her role as an English teacher. During her tenure, she has taught English one, three and four Dual enrollment Composition and Rhetoric and Poets Workshop. In addition to her role as a teacher, she has a quiz bowl
And its academic co-sponsor, a mentor to new teachers. Her impact on our school community goes beyond these listed official roles. To our students, she is an educator, committed to their learning and an advocate for their voice. To her fellow educators, she is a beacon for effective instruction who creates impactful professional development.
Her ability is not is not just recognized by our staff and students, but by the National Board of Professional Teaching. Achieving her National Board Certification this school year, I have developed a great respect for her as a teacher. Her goal as an educator is to harness student creativity
While maintaining high expectations for all students. She achieved this goal by providing students with authentic opportunities to demonstrate learning while prioritizing student voice in the classroom. These goals are best exemplified by her poetry class. Each school year, her Poets workshop class works all year to
Publish a book of poetry written and edited by her students. Then the students plan their book release and signing to celebrate being published authors. The whole experience empowers our students and gives them a sense of purpose in their work. The event has become one of my favorite yearly celebrations to attend.
This year’s book release celebration will be a poetry festival to allow our young writers passion to inspire others. I have seen firsthand the impact of her teach that her teaching has had on her students as they leave her class with a newfound confidence in their abilities and a love for learning.
Not only does Elise value student voice and choice and learning, but she also works to ensure our staff have a voice and choice in their professional development. Since 2021, she has created and implemented professional development for our staff. She has led a book study on keeping the wonder,
Allowing our staff to grow and structurally while fueling their passion for teaching. Ms.. DICKERSON demonstrates exceptional teacher leadership by spearheading numerous schoolwide and countywide professional development initiatives. Her generosity She generously shares her instructional expertise with her colleagues at North Point by leading collaborative planning sessions for the English 11 team,
As well as contributed the growth of composition and rhetoric teachers throughout the district by presenting innovative instructional and technological technological resources. Furthermore, she serves on three book approval committees aimed at promoting diversity and accessibility within the CPS curriculum. In addition, she has led several school wide and countywide professional development activities
Outside of Charles County Public Schools. She presents educational conferences and serves as an as a consultant for Brave New Teaching. She is an example of living the life of an educator, constantly engaging in practices that extend her ability as a teacher. Elise is an excellent teacher.
Over the past several years, she has successfully made work to make North Point High School, a place where both students and teachers thrive. I know without a doubt that North Point High School is a better learning institution with her services. I’m honored to present Mrs. Elise DICKERSON to the Charles County Public Schools
Board of Education for Recognition. Thank you. Thank you, Principal Caple. Our next recipient is Ms.. Kendra Granger. She’s a second grade teacher, and Mr. William Miller will be representing her. I’ll say this now. I don’t know what’s going to take place after I’m done speaking and after Ms..
Granger is done speaking, but I’ll just leave it at that. Good evening. I am proud to present Ms.. Kendra Granger as an exemplary employee at William B Wade Elementary School. Ms.. Granger began her teaching career in 2018. Wade and is successfully taught second grade inclusion for the past six years.
When you look at what makes a teacher a successful teacher in the classroom, the first question I ask myself is what do the students think of her? I asked one of her former students and he responded. Ms.. Granger helped me with my work and she gave out the best treats.
I just had a great time in her class. She’s really nice and kind, and I will always remember her as a kind person, no matter how old I get. She is the nicest teacher I ever had and he is excelling in third grade because of her work.
When I asked a couple of her students she currently has how they feel about Ms.. Granger. The first said She is amazing. She makes learning fun, takes the time with us to help us win when we need it. Another student said She is so nice because she always
Makes learning fun for us and makes us feel special no matter what kind of day we are having. As an administrator, what I appreciate most, Ms.. Granger, is her willingness to accept any challenge. Throughout her entire teaching careers, she has been identified as inclusion. Classroom teacher,
And she loves to collaborate with the other teachers she works with. She enjoys figuring out each child’s unique learning style and develop strategies to meet individual needs. This challenges her to grow and grow her knowledge and skills as a teacher. She’s a quiet leader who puts the needs of her students first.
She will often give up her own planning time just to meet with her students and build a stronger connection with them. If they are struggling in any way, Miss Fisher, one of her former special education instructional assistants, had this to say about her. And I’m very glad she’s here.
As a mom, I’m confident that Kendra would provide my sons with the best education possible. Any parent should feel blessed to have such a wonderful teacher for their child. Ken Raising Kendra is very caring to her students, colleagues, and she’s organized, very dependable. She provides
A safe, nurturing environment for all of her students. Wade and KPS are truly blessed to have such a wonderful teacher them today. Ms.. Granger is a very active member in her school. She leads our PBIS team. She is an anchor for our new teachers. She was part of an MSD grant that encourages
Teacher leadership and volunteers their time for every school function she we have. She also leads parties in our building, too. She’s a role model for all young and veteran teachers to look up to. I’m very proud to honor Ms.. Kendra Granger as our exemplary employee. Now that support Wade Elementary.
Thank you so much, Mr. Miller. Okay. Our next recipient is Ms.. Stephanie Lane. She’s secretary from Daniel of St Thomas, Jennifer Elementary, and she’s going to be represented by Assistant Principal Taylor. Good evening, everyone. I would like to introduce Ms.. Stafford Lane, who is being recognized as Jennifer’s exemplary employee.
Ms. Lane has worked for CPS for for 28 years. She has been our registration secretary at Jennifer for six of those years. She supports the Secretary to the principal and all administrators in anticipating the needs of the parents to take care of registration needs. She helps the students with whatever they need
To ensure they have a great day. Ms. Lane provides staff instruction and guidance concerning student attendance. She collaborates with our P.W. to provide attendance letters to parents and determining residency matters. Ms. Lane is always available to our parents and students to answer any question. Ms. Lane goes above and beyond to support Jennifer
Before, and I stress after school initiatives she works with parents and students to accommodate them. Ms. Lane works collaboratively with our parent liaison, including supporting a number of Title one events, including summer backpack, learning nights before and after school. E. L o Clubs. Ms. Lane continues
To take advantage of trainings related to her position. Ms. Lane collaborates with other staff members to provide a climate and culture for students. Ms. Lane always provides a safe space for our Jennifer’s students. She actively listens and will advocate for students and parents if necessary. Ms. Lane Models behavior akin to following
Safety procedures and protocols for keeps keeps at Jennifer. Ms. Lane always is concerned about making sure she follows the proper protocols related to her role as the registration secretary. She is diligent and specific about gathering the necessary documents for proof of residency. She actively works with the pupil personnel worker
To monitor absences, rest and residency issues. Ms. Lane promotes and actively supports students and parents through her involvement and support of Jennifer School activities. She always goes above and beyond for our students to support them. She eats lunch with our students, incentivizes them and will offer suggestion ins to help students feel successful.
Ms. Lane is multifaceted in her support of Jennifer. She always has a positive attitude with our students. She is the type of secretary that every school needs in this area. Ms. Lane anticipates the of the administration and will troubleshoot as necessary. Ms. Lane has developed a relationship of trust with many Jennifer parents.
They communicate to her regarding absences, students supports and other areas of concern. Jennifer is extremely busy school, but she is always steady on her feet, providing consistent support. The staff and students treasure Lane and as a Jennifer’s star staff member who always shines on behalf of the administration and staff
Of Jennifer Elementary School. I present to you Ms.. Stephanie Lane as Jennifer’s exemplary employee. Thank you, Ms.. Taylor. Our next recipient is Holly Smiggle Learning resource teacher, and she’ll be represented by principal Deidre Barnett. She knows I need her to stand back. Good evening. There were promise I didn’t have to move.
It is my pleasure today to present to you Miss Holly Smiggle Watoday. Ms.. Mitchell’s employee how we started it. Mitchell In 2020, as our learning resource teacher in this role, she supports students and teachers with gifted instruction. She is the expert in this field in our building,
And not only small groups with students, but models and offers assistance to teachers implementing gifted instruction in her role. Holly Holly serves as our testing coordinator. She leads professional development to train staff on the protocols of each test being administered. Holly is also a member of Professional learning team
And attends quarterly meetings presented by central office in addition to the monthly school based field meetings. She is often a leader in presenting the information to staff at our IET at our Isle T team meetings and staff meetings. Holly attends required professional development for her role. She embraces any opportunity to connect
To increase our capacity as an educator, which is evident by her most recent professional development in restorative practices. Holly demonstrates a great deal of pride in her work. She’s very organized with student data. Debtline and overall scheduling. And just to add a little story,
She also stays on top of me to make sure I meet deadlines. She got upset with me because she thought I did not turn in my exemplary employee name, but I had to hide for like a day when she found out it was her.
She works hard to ensure that her daily schedule maximizes her time to work with students, but also to have availability to support staff. I want me all while meeting all of her other deadlines as required in her position. Holly does more than what her position requires. She’s always willing to jump in
And assist whenever she’s needed. Often without even being s. Her overall presence throughout the school building contributes to watchdog Mitchells, positive vibe and cohesive culture. Ms.. Smiggle is truly example of bulldog pride and so deserving of this recognition. I’m honored to present to you our exemplary employee from Mitchell Elementary School.
Ms.. Holly Smiggle. Thank you, Ms.. Barnett. Our final recipient is Miss Lauren Washington, and she’s a social study teacher from Post Soda, and she’ll be represented by Principal Roy Sermons. What’s a little. Good evening again. The evening. Miss Lauren Washington. What can I say? What can I not say?
Let’s start with that piece. She is our everything she’s there first thing in the morning. She’s last me evening. I often have to put her out. I have to cut the alarm on to know she is just the epitome of dedication. Our scholars love her.
If there is an issue, she is right there to handle them with our scholars. She’s taking on every responsibility known to man with just a little bit of a little bit of money. Just a little bit. She’s Our testing coordinator, PBS coordinator person. She is our constant counselor.
When we don’t have one in the building, kids find her and they are so excited to have them as a part of her life. Well, she’s a part of their life. She is go she goes beyond to make sure that she does whatever she has to
Do to make sure all scholars are successful, both in and out of the classroom. When there a bad day. I’ll go hide in her room. Like I that smiles infectious. She has an infectious laugh. Her former principal, who was just up here, said she was alone.
She just to say it definitely because she’s been there for a while. So I’m excited to have her as a part of our team. Our kids love her, her families love her. And she’s just the epitome of professionalism, dedicated. It is not the word. She’s been doing this for over 20 years.
You know, she looks 12. She has You would never know that she is a seasoned teacher. I see some. She is not. But that’s all. But you can see. But she loves what she does. And at this time in her career, where she can honestly say she has that passion
Still that drive, still that she comes early, she stays late, she does whatever she needs to do for scholars, that is who this person is. I’m excited to just let you know Lauren is our exemplary employee. Now, tomorrow, the next day, she’s my left, my right hand, my left foot, my right foot.
She’s all of those things together. And I could not do this without you. So I’m thankful for you. Can we give all of our recipients a hand? And at this time, I’ll turn it over to you. Chairperson Morley. Thank you, ma’am. And thank you all so much.
It’s no secret that our teachers and staff are the heart and soul of the CCP as just simply put, and as much as we love our customers, also known as our students, you are the reason why they are the way they are and why they turn out so well
And make us so proud. So thank you sincerely for everything that you do. Left foot, right foot, right arm, left all of the things. Thank you so much. So I’ll just go down the line and say a few words to each of you and then we’ll come back and that’ll be your time
To share whatever you would like. All right. Starting with Ms.. Lee, who teaches sixth grade math, sixth grade and math. But you are engaging, and the students love being in your class and you make it exciting for them. And that’s something that they will never forget,
Even if it’s not a subject that naturally comes to them or that they necessarily love. If they love the teacher, that’s really all that matters, that they’re excited to be there and they want to make you happy. So thank you for everything that you pour into our students every day. I mean,
I just all kinds of notes about the contagious school spirit, because that matters. That matters a lot. And PBIS, you know, that PBIS means something to any student in any age from elementary on up. So thank you for everything that you do. And also, you’re an administrative intern,
Which I know is not easy. So you manage that math and, PBIS. And. And also, I have to point out the one word there really stuck out to me was your integrity. That is something that is is just innate to who you are. So thank you very much for everything that you do.
Mr. Burns, First of all, I know anything and building services is not easy, and especially when we have all these weather, when you have to clean out behind, who knows who for? Who knows why. It’s always something. It really, truly is a never ending job. Thank you very much, sir.
And we mean that sincerely. And also the fact that you’re dedicated and that you’re committed to making connections. So this is something for you is obviously much more than a job. This is something that you take and it’s a part of who you are. And that means a lot to us. You’re described
By the parents as being caring and kind and considerate. The children love you. Shout out to you great hair. Have to cosign on that. You’re always on time and you take pride in your work. And that says something about who you are as a person. We appreciate you. Mr. Burns.
Thank you so much. Ms.. Carpenter. I can cosign and everything that Mr. Carroll said. I was just full disclosure. I know you well. I see you just about every day. And he’s absolutely right. You are the point of contact. You set the tone for the building.
You’re someone that is always pleasant, is always smiling. You go above and beyond. I’ve watched you like. How does this lady do this all? She can be managing 20 things and you juggle them almost seamlessly. But I know there’s a lot that goes into that. There’s a lot of pride in your work,
A lot of professionalism, and a very, very obvious and strong work ethic. So we appreciate you. Thank you so much. Ms.. Carpenter. Ms.. DICKERSON, I am here for your next poetry festival slash book release, please. And thank you. I love that you’re encouraging students to be involved
And fall in love with poetry because it’s such great and positive way to express yourself and all of your many emotions that are completely normal. But it teaches you a positive way to express those emotions. So thank you for everything you do for our students. I love that you are also an advocate
And not just for teachers and students, but also for staff. And you make sure that the staff has a voice and a choice. Professional development. So I know that that’s very significant. And you also recently got your board certification. Congratulations. That I know is feat. I know that is years in the making.
So thank you so much. Ms.. Granger Yes, ma’am. First of all, I need to borrow your fan club. I was telling Ms.. Cramer I need my face on a stick. That’s all I’m saying. Yes, I love it. And I love right then they support you, obviously, because you support so many people.
You know what I mean? And I very much believe you. You get back what you put out. And so that that’s part of what you’re seeing. I love we got the warning. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I see. I see now. But I love that kids have a great time.
You have great treats. I will say, as a mother of a second grader, I couldn’t do it. It is not an easy job. They are very opinionated people, but they’re also brutally honest For all of them to say the same thing about you being nice and kind and sincerely being interested in them
And being amazing that, you know, that’s the that’s the honest truth. Kids will give it to you uncut. So we very much appreciate and I love that you can accept any challenge and you’re very collaborative that that means a lot. So thank you. Thank you so much for Stranger I miss Lane.
28 years of KPS. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. I mean, and the fact you keep challenging yourself and you still keep up with your professional professional development and training, it means something to you. You know what I mean? Like, I very much believe you never stop learning. But thank for your dedication.
And I just imagine I thought when he said that about all the lives that you’ve touched in the in that time, he probably could easily fill this room and. You know, you’re always available going above and beyond. You’re there before school, after school. That’s a lot. And that you
Have the relationship of trust with parents. That says a lot about who you are. We sincerely thank you. Thank you so much for playing Miss Miguel. I say it correctly, Miguel. Well, when I noted you started during the pandemic in 2020, I can only imagine the things that you came into.
But you handled it. You took it in stride. You embrace any opportunity to increase your capacity. I said, Wow, that that really said a lot. I’m I’m not kidding when I say I take notes because these things help me to be better, too, you know?
I mean, I’ve always believed that you can learn and you learn by watching people who personify excellence every day. And the fact that you train the staff, that you’re member of a professional learning team, you’re very big on data. And you if you’ve ever watched
A board meeting, you know, we’re a data driven. So we appreciate you for that. And if you stay on top of deadlines, that means a lot. And you always do with more than is required. That. We really appreciate that. Thank you so much, Mr. Miguel. And last but not least this Washington,
What were you quoted as the left arm? Right arm, left foot, right foot. I love that you are simply there. Everything there. The first went in, last went out. And also someone who has 20 plus years. And he’s right. Wouldn’t have known that if he hadn’t said that. But you’re still on fire
For teaching and you still have that same drive and passion that you’ve always done. And we need that. So please, only if, like all jokes, we need you to stay right where you are and that you fill multiple roles and you always go above and beyond.
And it pointed out your infectious smile and and that is what you need on those days when you just weary. Right? And everyone is just feeling a little low. And then there’s someone that just brightens the day. So thank you for being that for us and for persona much needed and appreciate it.
Thank you so much. So we will start back with as fondly whatever you’d like to share. Okay. You sure you want to stay? I don’t. I don’t want it to be said. We pressured you. I’m just kidding. Okay? I’m today. I like to thank the board.
My matter with my family and my family for being here today. There are two people I would like to say thank you to. They are the reason why I came here. Many years ago and stayed here. I found myself sitting on my college student union building on the.
Brink of tears because I messed up every job interview my college dean set up for. Me that day. I remember texting my mom. Telling her that I don’t think I made the right choice. It was a tap on. The shoulder from Mr. Johnson at H.R., who sat with me during. Our lunch break.
And this break should have been for 20 minutes, but it went well over an hour with an hour. Mr. Johnson sat with me and he share his kindness and compassion and even told me about this magical place called Charles County. It is magical. So he invited me down, and a few weeks
Later, once again, I messed up every interview. That was set up for me. And I was sitting in the same building. And ready to cry and text my mom. Saying, This place is 3 hours away from home. This is too far. And I was greeted by three smiles that were later called.
They were called later called colleagues and family of mine. They sat with me The same kindness that I felt when I met Mr. Johnson was the same encouragement that he gave me as well. They were bragging about their amazing principal, too. So at the end of our lunch
Break, I said, Hey, I might as well give it a try. I was actually supposed to go home after this. So I remember going over to the steel table and meeting with the warm blue smile, and I always saw him as blue. She never interviewed. Me. It was just a conversation.
And at the end of our conversation, Mzbel looked at me and smiled again and said, I got you. I’ll see you soon. Four years I’ve called Ms.. Blue my angel, because she doesn’t know this. But there was a time when me and. My sister were transitioning out of the house.
My parents were becoming into empty nesters. And at that transition, my mom. Prayed that our girls will go on to this. Earth and be exactly who they will be, but be surrounded by people that will love and support them. When she wasn’t close by. And when I say Ms..
Blue embody that, she embodied that. Ms.. Blue has always great to be with a smile and kindness. She was always. Excited for everything that I. Wanted to do. She pushed me. Through doors that I. Did not think was possible. She showed me how to lead with style and class, but
Every year we sat down together and asked me why In education. It was the kindness of Mr.. Johnson. That brought me. Here. But it was the support and encouragement. That was blue has brought me and kept me here again. Thank you all for today. thank you. Good. Good luck following. That, Mr. Bird.
Got it. You got everything? Yeah. I’m not big on speeches, so keep it short and simple. It’s first of all one thing. God. And then no one to thank the teachers and the kids. I mean, the teachers and staff mode. Number three. I read the board.
And then for the kids who show me love at the school. Thank you. I know it’s Mr. Carpenter. Yeah. I’m so humbled to be recognized today. It is truly an honor. My husband and I both grew up in Charles County and graduated from McDonogh High School.
I’ve had four children, also graduated from CPS. CPS is home and I’m honored to be able to truly come home when I go to work each day. Working at Neale has me the opportunity to reflect on the impact that KPS has had on me.
I am thankful for the to the board for this recognition. Mr. Carroll and the staff at Neill for their encouragement and my family for their support. Thank you. Ms. DICKERSON I’m going to try to go very, very, very fast. Good evening. Thank you, Mr. Cable and members of the board for this recognition.
Many of us remember growing up with Mr. Rogers. He took us on adventures in his neighborhood through a picture. Picture introduced us to neighbors like Mr. McFeely and Officer Clemmons and transported us to the neighborhood of Make Believe. I try to teach students that people and their stories
Can serve as similar doors, windows or mirrors. I hope my time here this evening serves as one such window. Just like picture. Picture. To my incredible neighborhood and the many neighbors who make it special. Mrs. Nancy Kirby and Mrs. Jacqueline Taylor are English teachers who generously and graciously support
Or offer their support and inspiration. Mr. Brett Schaefer is the best kind of neighbor, steady, reliable, consistent and encouraging with high expectations and a depth of knowledge in the content. Mrs. Laura Padilla is exceptionally creative in her approach to instruction in the classroom.
It has been my honor to learn from her, collaborate with her. Andy Martin puts more to professional development than almost any teacher I have ever encountered. Every day they work to be better than the day before. Mrs. Cecilia RC Munoz, like many others, is at the ticket table for every afterschool
Event all year long, supporting not just student athletes, but also our young performers and musicians. Mrs. Melody, Tony and Miss Jordan Coslovich have contagious enthusiasm for science, but we’ll speak with equal fervor about the books they are reading or the sports they are coaching. Mrs. Jessica Davis and Mr.
Andrew Plesac are wonderfully adventurous in their approach to teaching social studies. They are unafraid to try new things, even if it means getting kids to learn history. Ms.. Michelle Coates has lessons that are all inspiring and instead worthy. Mrs. Melissa Ribble and Mr. Julian Scrivens
Are two of the most optimistic and encouraging teachers that you could ever hope to meet. Mrs. Kristen Helming nurtures student voices literally the choir director, but also encourages them to share their talents with the world. Senora, your recent Maurice has elevated her scholars to international notoriety by arranging to have their work displayed
At the University of Cartagena, Colombia. Senor a Carmen Garcia Vargas has the most beautiful classroom in the school. It is warm and inviting, just like her. Senor Omer, Eric Alinsky. Evans does a little bit of everything, but still took on an extra class to cover a vacancy,
As did the rest of the world language department this year. These are just a few of the many educators that make Northpoint the beautiful neighborhood that it is. To them, I say it’s you I like. And thank you for being my neighbor. know. Hello. Good evening.
I just want to start by thanking Dr. Navarro and the board for recognizing both students and staff at this meeting. I would next like to thank Mr. Miller and our admin team at me for selecting me for this recognition. You all have been such an incredible support system
And I’m so grateful for all the leadership and mentoring opportunities you’ve provided me with and that have allowed me to learn and grow. I would like to thank my Wade family who shows up and says I’ll always wait is truly such a special place to work and be a part of.
And I’m lucky to be there. I’d like to thank my students for teaching me to be my best self always and all the excitement they always bring to my life. I’d like to thank my family, my friends, for being here today and always. And lastly, I’d like to thank my husband
For being my biggest cheerleader and always helping me prep other things for my classroom and for the classic. No way that really happened. When I tell him about my day. Always we watch, have it all the time. And he’s like, Really? And I’m like, Yes, I. Could
Truly not be the teacher I strive to be without all these amazing people in my life. So thank you all again. yes. Yes. It really happened. Do you watch that with elementary? I love that show. Hi. Good evening. Evening. Good evening, Dr. Tomorrow and Chairman Moore,
Lee and the rest of the board members. I would like to thank you all for this opportunity and this recognition. I would like to also thank my administrative team. Ms.. Taylor, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Myers. Without their support, I don’t think I could do the job that I do every single day.
I also would like to thank the staff members at Jennifer, if they’re here, any of them. I think I’m a lift, but also the staff members at Jennifer for their support as well. When they come into the office and with their kind words
And their understanding of how the office is run every day. I also want to thank my family for all their support and the long hours that I do work, and I am at the school where I am. So I would like to thank them. I’d also like to thank
The ladies in the office who also I work with, because without their support and their understanding and their help, I don’t think I could do the job that I do and take all the lovely phone calls that we get from our community and parents every day. So I just want to thank them.
And I also like to congratulate the rest of the exemplary employees. Thank you. Good evening, board members, Dr. Navarro and fellow colleagues. Thank you for such an incredible opportunity. It is truly an honor to be recognized by my colleagues and administration. I’m honored and humbled to work
With an amazing staff, always willing to go the extra mile for each other and their students each and every staff member at Mitchell sets the bar high on a daily basis, challenging you to be better than you were the day before. The opportunity to work with so many exceptional staff
Members throughout this county for the last 18 years has shaped me into the educator that I am today and allowed for this nomination and recognition tonight. Thank you to my family for always supporting me on my endeavors. No matter the cost. I’m blessed to have such an incredible support system.
A wise person once told me It’s never a day to work if you love what you do. And I can truly say that I do. I’m deeply grateful for this recognition and the opportunity to say it’s always a great day at Walter J. Good evening. Good evening.
So first, I. Want to thank Dr. Navarro and the board for this recognition. I also want to. Thank my principal, Dr., as well as our founders. Ms.. Jackson and Dr. King, working at Paso to this year has really, I feel like giving me my. Teacher joy back. It’s just such a joyous place.
Am I going to be the. One person cries, I’m. But it’s just such a joyous place. And I’m just I’m just happy every day that I’m there. So it really is, you know, just a wonderful place to be. And just to my colleagues and the students, this is my first.
Year teaching middle school. I was a little nervous, but I love it. I mean, I would not change a thing. So and also. I want to thank my family. For. All of their for listening to all of my teacher stories for over 20 years.
And, you know, even on the tough days for telling me, it’s okay, you can go back and do it again. So, you know, we. Keep coming back. So thank you. Thank you. All right. We have a little something for you all, and we’ll take a few pictures.
So just stay right where you are. All right? Okay. Watch yourself. I think we’re being able to have that. Yeah. I feel like we. I. I mean, this is priceless today. And I know. That. Yeah, look, I mean, yeah, let me step around. Yeah, I see. What’s the point. For? No, no, no.
Okay. All right, so this is how you get in the way. So we we we think. No, no, and no. You have to give it a look, right? I go, you tell us. Okay. great. And what I’m supposed to say, graduation again. Thanks so much. Okay. Thank you.
So I got a cookie, so. Well, it was Brian. I don’t want to talk. About. I’m afraid to get this done. That’s kind of. sorry. Okay, we. We get mail. That was like I. Saw her walking up, and I didn’t see her on the side. I no time.
So focus on her walking out. Thank you, guys. All right. one up. I didn’t see the other lady standing in my bad. Okay. I know I’m. Starting out, but we don’t. Get to her like the first lady. That was way sometimes, you know, they don’t show up at all.
But we had extra people to come. Was going to have last month. We normally have like five or six. We had nine. Yeah, that’s What it is. Yeah. Yeah. That’s why I had to split them up. okay. this is after. Yeah. Yeah. But it was worth like. It was worth it.
We have 400 and not in person but we have, we have some other things before that. But I’ll try. you were doing. Okay when we came back. Yeah. Yeah. Let’s give them a second to clear out. Have. Yeah. So we just talking stuff. Yeah. For virtual right.
Yeah. And, and no one in person. Okay. I know. I’m going to need to use it again. Okay. All right everyone, we have to continue with the meeting. We got another fan club round by the fan club. All right. Thank you all so much for coming. We’re going to continue with the meeting.
And then lit it. Right. All right. May I have your attention, please? Hello. We have to get funny with the meeting. All right. Thank you. It’s a mike. Are you saying they can’t hear me? It’s okay. She just say. She say she can’t hear me. You’re not okay? Yeah. Okay.
All right. Thank you. Thank you. You’re definitely on it. Yeah. Yeah. The one lady was just saying she couldn’t hear me. Because everybody else is. Just so loud, Right? Okay. All right. Thank you all so much for coming. Thank you. It’s a portion of the evening where we lose. Our millions. All right.
We won’t take it personally. I’m. You’re welcome to stay. And before we continue, I have to recognize our immediate past due to Representative McNamara. But I thank you for visiting us. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay, Mr. Schwartz, next step, We had unfinished business.
Do you want to go. To a public forum? Because. Yeah, okay. You’re running a little bit behind. All right, I understand we have no one in person, and we have several virtual. Right. Okay, Go ahead for. Okay. I will read the rules for public forum. Speakers should identify themselves.
Statement should be brief to the point and limited to 3 minutes or less. Board member should not be expected to respond during the forum to statements made by speakers when appropriate. CCP staff address the Speaker’s concerns directly. Statements are relayed to Charles County Board of Education, agenda items
Or any education related topic with the following limitations Personnel matters pending the potential appeals or the comments regarding the actions or statements of individual staff or the private lives of any individual are not appropriate topics. Proper language and decorum are required at all times. I’ll turn it over. All right. Virtual and virtual.
Okay I will call each speaker Order. So. All right. Go. Right. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Paskowitz Ma and I’m a parent leader, Charles County Rives and a member of the National Parents Union Family Advisory Council. We’ve been discussing important policy issues and operating budgets these past three board meetings.
But today I want to talk about student interventions for math and reading as our families receive the Q2 grades. And I read scores and we just discussed our literacy plan today, our considerations for budget policies and strategic plans around literacy and math must include a real conversation with community and action
To provide students of all academic supports they need. As a mom of three, I wonder how is it possible we don’t have more supports for all our students to ensure they are meeting their milestones in reading, writing and math when only 41% of students are proficient in L.A.
And only 33% are proficient in math, according to our district, to teach it plan priorities. When it comes to student learning, every student at every school incentive should have access to and receive impactful programs and intervention support, whether they are above or below grade level expectations.
And that’s not happening for all our students. And then, according to our blueprint implementation plan, we have goals for every child to be reading on grade level by the end of second grade, and all our educators will be trained on the science of reading. Where are we in meeting those goals?
What supports are we offering students in later grades? As literacy is tied to college and career readiness and the blueprint also in meeting the requirements of the Ready to Read Act of 2019 at couple for students identified as risk for reading difficulties from today’s literacy plans,
I also wonder if we’ve gotten any stakeholder feedback on the literacy plan we are submitting and if we are taking the temperature on the current implementation of the plan, including of interventions that are being offered are working, and to what degree? My act today is that parents of Charles
County rides would like to see Dr. Navarro and her team host a town hall on student interventions for math and reading, to share information about the interventions where we are and ensuring that every educator is being trained on the science of reading and how we are using the remaining Esser
Funds on student support, such as high impact tutoring and extended learning opportunities. I also would like our district to look at innovative ways to offer supports to every student by actually tapping into our community. We have seen this through literacy and math liberator models and other district and state
Where you can actually train your community to help provide high dosage tutoring and supports that are educators and our students desperately need during the school day. And after school. Thank you. Thank you. Ms.. Small. We have. An people invited. And good evening, board members.
I’m Zachary Ball, a parent and he is District one. I just wanted to bring to the board’s attention that there might be an issue with the Charles County assessments that were given to students as part of their core quarter two curriculum, where we received our report
Card back for one of our students and saw that they had dropped a whole letter grade in their subject. And when we began to ask why, the teacher informed us that they had failed their county assessment, which threw a red flag to me
Because nobody had ever reached out to us to say, Hey, your students are having an issue with reading and everything we had seen up until this point, be it in writing or is test scores show that he’s above level in reading? So there was a discrepancy there.
And when we asked them to look into it, it turned out that the system had auto populated wrong score and my student had actually passed that county assessment and the teacher told us that they actually have no control over how that grade gets inputted. It’s done automatically. And when the guidance counselor
In our school for reading started to check the rest of the students records in our school, she found that some students it had been put in for Zero Score and they had taken the test and passed as well. So there’s an issue there. The the other issue that I’d
To bring to your attention and advocate for is that, you know, we have several different metrics that we’re starting to look at and several different assessments that we’re doing to make sure our students are on in our catching up from the lear is to, you know,
We need it needs to be clear to parents which one the county is leaning on to decide whether or not our students are proficient is there. Here was two different tools. One that said my student was and another that said my student didn’t. But at no point
Did anybody reach out to me, the parent, and say, Hey, we think your student might have an issue. I’m lucky. My, my, my sons are both very smart and I have time to look into this for them and advocate for them, not in the county has that. And I can only imagine
That there are other students in Charles County that have had the same thing happen to them or for whatever reason, the score didn’t go in right or actually are having a problem. But if the teachers aren’t paying attention and they don’t have the tools
To go back and tools are time to go back and look at it and work with those students and figure out what happened, I think we’re doing a disservice to our students, and I think you all, as county leaders, should make your constituents aware that this might be an issue and have them
Check their students grades so that they can be corrected as needed. Over. Thank you, Mr. Ball. I provided Thank you so much. My name is Cory Rodrigues. I am Matthew Miles and David’s mom and I serve as president of the National Parents Union. The National Parents Union has members in all 50 states
Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, including our beautiful friends from the Charles county Rise parent group who are here representing the beautiful voice of parents in your community tonight. They have invited us here this evening to stand in solidarity them who are all together united in asking for some clarity and transparency around
What supports the district has in place to help kids who are falling far behind in catching up. I first want to express my sincere appreciation for the hard work and dedication that you invest in providing quality education to the students of Charles County Public Schools and name that we are participating
This evening with the tone of support and desired collaboration for solution. The parents of the Charles County Rise would like to invite Superintendent Navarro to a town hall to have an open discussion with parents about their concerns and the things that the school district is doing
And needs to be doing to help kids to catch up at the National Parents Union. We are particularly interested the optimal utilization of Esser Funds, which are set to expire in September of this year. It’s worth noting that the Department of Education is giving extensions for evidence based programs to support learning acceleration.
I would like to encourage all of you to allocate these funds toward evidence based approaches to accelerating student learning with a specific emphasis on reading, intervention, literacy specialist, high impact tutoring and extended learning opportunities. The State of Maryland, which received over $3.2 billion in extra money Charles County received over $47
Million in additional supports as a result of that funding. The last Esser report released on Esser expenditures for the state, which was last released publicly in February of 2023, indicates that Charles County had only at that time spent about 26% of their Esser dollars,
And the majority of that money was spent on salaries. We are anxious to hear an update on that number and where we are in spending down that. Esser Money transparency and accountability for this. Esser Expenditure is critically important. We are hearing from parents that they do not have literacy coaches
Or reading interventions in schools and are left wondering about what resources are available to their children to help them to catch up. As the district approaches that spending deadline, what everyone is calling the fiscal cliff, we want to make sure that parents are aware of the resources available to them as the
Result of these additional funds being sent down. It is paramount that every student in Charles County has access to essential resources that foster their academic growth. Reading, intervention and literacy specialists play a crucial role in identifying and addressing the unique needs of students struggling with literacy skills,
Allocating funds to ensure that each school has specialist will undoubtedly contribute to improving outcomes. Thank you for your time and your consideration. We wish you the best of luck. Thank you. Appreciate you. Thank you. Members of the Board of Education. My name is Ariel Smith and I’m the senior director
Of policy and action at the National Parents Union. I’m here this evening to urge the board to ensure that you are strategically allocating your remaining Esser funds to address student learning acceleration. These funds present a unique opportunity to invest in evidence based approaches and are in alignment with your state’s
Blueprint policy, which we’ve heard about tonight and today during your board meeting. Districts must carefully prioritize initiatives that target academic recovery and growth, whether it’s hiring specialized personnel, implementing high impact tutoring programs, extended learning opportunities, or building engaging classrooms. A well thought out strategy ensures that resources are directed where they’re needed most
By being strategic in their answers. Then, Downs districts can not only bridge learning gaps, but also create a foundation for sustained academic success. Ultimately fostering a resilient and thriving student community while prepared for the future. And National Parents Union. We are committed to supporting districts as they engage with families around
How to best support our kids and their learning. We have many examples of how districts have supported their struggling students. I can point you to our partners at the Oakland Reach who has partnered with Oakland public schools to train parents and caregivers as tutors, or in Tennessee who seen who has seen
Considerable student growth after implementing a statewide tutoring core. We encourage this district to spend down their remaining dollars with the acknowledgment that students are behind grade level in reading and math. According to the latest test scores, four out ten kids in Charles County are reading on grade level,
And three out of ten are doing math on grade level. Parents have expressed concerns about their AI ready scores and the results of the last common assessment. Charles County has access to an unprecedented amount of money for additional resources to support student learning. And yet, unfortunately, parents
Not seeing the changes that they need in order for them to feel confident that their kids will be prepared to advance to the next grade level. We want to honor the work that is being done as was recognized today at the beginning of the meeting, but also, I believe,
Uplift the need for learning acceleration to continue. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Smith. I believe that was our last speaker. All right. Thank you. All right. Returning to the agenda, the next item was unfinished business. The adoption of the board handbook can say with certainty
We are not ready to adopt the board handbook. It is a work in progress. Are there any highlights, Either Ms.. Smith or Mr. Lucas, that you’d like to make us aware of? I will. So first I want to thank my my colleague, Mr.
Lucas, for the number of hours that we have dedicated to this handbook. Also want to thank my work colleagues who provided initial comment on the handbook. Just to be clear, in terms of what the impetus and sort of purpose of this handbook is, I know my board colleagues are aware,
But just for the public. This handbook really centers on the unity of purpose, roles, commitment to norms and agreement on protocols and formal structures that will enable our board to perform its responsibilities in a way that best benefits the students of Charles County. The handbook outlines the practices that build
And sustain a positive board superintendent relationship and define a culture of quality respect between and amongst us. This will also obviously be a public facing document once it’s done. It is on board docs for my colleague Suzanne. Peruse and look through. It mirrors exactly what was sent to you all several weeks ago
That you all have comments on comments excuse me on where was consensus around some of the changes that were recommended they were accepted where there was additional discussion needed. There are bubbles and highlights that warrant additional discussion. So I think at this stage we’re asking members to go back into the document,
Look through it, add comment for us to continue to have discussion on. But I think we are definitely much closer than we were when we first began to draft this handbook and also shout out to professional learning, this handbook was an outgrowth of the board attending the NTSB’s
Annual conference last year in Orlando, where we were able to attend a session to hear specifically from fellow board colleagues and their superintendent around how they jointly worked to create such a handbook. So definitely there’s a real link between professional learning and development opportunities and the changes that we’re looking to sort of
See and make as board. So I think we’re almost there. But asking colleagues to go in. I know the superintendent is also taking a look just to make sure that this doesn’t run afoul of day to day operations. I know Mr. Schwartz is also taking a look to ensure that we are
Citing the proper policies and we’re signing the proper law. But in the interim, I am asking my board colleagues to go back and take another look. Mr. Lucas, anything to add to that? So I would echo everything Ms.. Smith said. You know, it’s kind of when this thing started, it started more as
As Ms.. Ms. Smith said board norms and practices more norms than anything else. And it kind of grew, which is not a bad thing. And to how the board handled processes as well. The things, things that were done but never documented or codified. So this is a great way to capture that.
I will say that what what got said to everybody and posted I don’t think is the final revision you and I had because there was a couple of things that we added at the end. That’s all the shared drive under the merge document and. You know, no fault because it’s still a draft.
But there was a couple of paragraphs that got added at the end. And so we’ll make sure that that the latest version of of this document gets to everybody. And again you know comment it will I think it’s as Ms.. Smith said, where there were similarity of comments in certain areas.
We just those and massaged it a little bit. So all the comments were incorporated in what was in the final, the final change. But it’s definitely a step in the right direction. Thank you both, because I know this has truly been a labor of love.
It has expanded exponentially as we’ve had additional ideas and thoughts and things that we would like to see. What is the deadline for the next round of comments? Would what are the next steps? It would be ideal if we’re able by the work session to move forward with approval. Okay.
So I would ask if more colleagues can have their comments in by the 19th. So next Monday. This upcoming Monday. Okay. I think approval is all my business. I think I think having a having a clean document that we can talk to because, you know, there’s still some things
That that that are in here that that people may question. But but I think having a clean document with with no more edits and comments that we can talk to. I Think we could we could do that by the by the work session. Okay. One second. Mr.. Ms.. Thomas.
So then we’re proposing by the 19th to have all of our comments in, and then that will give the opportunity because the work session is what the. I know it’s 27th. 27th. With that, do you think that to Navarre that would give sufficient time
By the 26th for I guess I’m about a week to then add and clean up. So yes, I just want to be clear. So we’re going to get additional comments, all of us. I have I haven’t finished giving feedback and I apologize and there’s some questions there that are sitting as question.
So there has to be some resolution of position taken and then the board has to go down and say, we agree as a board on this position, this position, this position. So so I guess when you say you’re seeking additional comments from board members to take to give us
An additional read and put in some additional comments, I wondering if perhaps what we need to do is then work with the two board members and meet through maybe solidify the document in a way in which we can codify where the places where we still are seeing some language
Pieces that are missing or that we primarily, probably Eric and myself inserted some things for additional clarity for board. Okay. Yeah. And then I think then the the idea of bringing it to the work session, I think what you want is try to bring it to the work session in that cleaner version.
So then my suggestion would then be to then have to present the document to the board, like, walk through, because we still have in the in the draft that we have right now are some things that are still in conflict with each other. We haven’t made a decision.
And I think we need to bring those forward. Yeah. Fair enough. I think that’s doable. Yeah. And I think ideally that could be added to the work session. We can spend some time on it with an ideal potential adoption sometime in March. We don’t have to.
I think we wanted to see if the board could adopt sometime in March, whether it’s the board meeting or the work session in March. Okay. We do have it on the work session for February. We do, yes. So that was a. Work session, as it were. We can work through the document.
Okay. Okay. And, Ms.. Thomas, you wanted to add something? Thank you. That was going to be my question, because I’ve gone through the document a couple times. And now that I know that there’s still outstanding questions, I. Feel. Those outstanding questions absolutely need to be a discussion,
Because they do seem to have two extreme poles of you know. You can just see people’s thought processes about where they tried to come to the middle to then be able to get some language that everybody can can can adopt collectively. So that was going to be my question. I very much
Because I’ve reviewed it several times and put I was the one to kind of put some questions in there too. Yeah, I very much would like an opportunity, have a discussion with my colleagues in some kind of form so that we can resolve those.
I think that would expedite the review after we’ve done the, you know, the independent review. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Miss Smith. And I can work with the chair and vice chair just to make sure we have the proper time to walk through, because I know it’s definitely gonna take longer
Than 20 minutes to walk through and say these seem to be ten or 12 different sort of areas of contention amongst board. We need to discuss each and every one of them to understand like what was the intent, what’s the language, what’s going to be the final product.
And I’m not sure if we’re doing a vote or if we’re doing some type like on every single point. But I can figure out with you both, one, the timing that would be needed to walk through and also sort of what the process would be
To ensure that each board member feels like they have a voice and whatever the areas of discussion are. Okay, So. I. Guess the loss of our public here. So why wouldn’t we just do that as a group? I mean, why. At the board session? The work session?
Yeah. I mean, I don’t I. Think. That’s what I just said. But I thought I thought I just heard you say that you would. You’re going to walk. You want to walk through it at the work session? Yeah. I just want to figure out with the board and vice chair
How much time we would need to do it. Because right now I think we have 20 minutes for this, and that’s obviously not enough time. Yeah. Also, walking through what the process would be will be vote on every single issue. This is on page two. This is the language.
What I thought the vote or do we say this is the recommended recommendation in totality. Let’s vote on the entire document? No, I think the latter that that wouldn’t. The former. The latter would not make sense. The first thing to go through like each item. Okay. But yeah.
We had also things we have consensus on. We could have those upfront like a consent agenda and then revisit the items that may have, you know, need additional discussion. Yes. Thank you, Miss Chairwoman. For me, I think I’m looking for the summation of the areas that are outstanding
And the areas that, you know, there is concurrence, like the things that concurrence. I think we may be able to quickly go through those. We could just pull out those a summation of the areas or the topics that are in there need collaboration there. Maybe that can help us get through
Those a little better because I think if we boil it down, there may be ten, ten or ten or 12. I thought bubbles that. I remember putting questions down for. Yeah, I had some as well right? Everyone is definitely. Right and that’s why. I need to figure out the timing. Right.
And also understanding this is a working document. So if we can get consensus on maybe 75 of it, we start there, you know? Yeah. Thank you. Yes, thank you, Mr. Lucas. So, I mean, so what? What really? Is there a hard deadline? I mean, I thought I think the hard deadline
Had the last time we spoke about this was having it done before our next board retreat. So. Yes. And if that’s. Yeah. Is that when when, when the date is because I haven’t heard when the final date is. But I mean think that’s a hard deadline
And then we can we can work work backwards from that so right. We’re working on scheduling in April. Okay. And it would be probably the latter part of April. All right. So that’s so that gives us all the all of March to to if we need some time. If we need it. Yeah.
All right. Miss Bella Washington. Yeah. I would like to suggest maybe if we can collectively meet, like, one all from our work session, like we used to do, You know, like, if something happened, we’ll come and do a zoom or whatever, pull up the document,
And we can go through it like that. But putting tackling document back to the public and we can go through it just like that. So you’re proposing like almost like an emergency meeting or something, or. You remember how we used to do meetings in between meetings just to get things up,
Get a process going before we present to the public, before document, maybe something like that we could do instead of opposing it and put it on the on one of the board sessions and you and get through it faster like that. Well, I’m thinking maybe if we start with
The things we’re already in agreement on and then we can identify where we’re not in agreement on and if it’s the will of the board, maybe we could have a separate meeting because it would have to be looking at this issue or it’s like, boy,
It would have to be a separate meeting on. The things that yeah, I think if we start I mean, I think the the plan that Ms.. McSmith proposed, everyone do another read through by the 19th at any comments, including any questions have been identified and let’s identify what we’re in agreement on
And make that as clean as possible. And if there’s any outliers, if we need a separate meeting, then we can revisit you. And if anyone needs help with track changes, again, no issue. If some of us do this every day, just let’s just talk through it
So that we can actually have a document that’s in SharePoint that we’re using all together and folks sort of know how to use track changes because there may be something new it’s like, I didn’t have a comment on this necessarily before, but now I do.
So happy to walk folks through sort of how to change language, add comment bubbles, look, whatever is helpful. And to your point, if you could please resend it, because if what’s on board docs because I that’s what I was looking at. I was like this. Yeah, right.
This is if you send we’re going to. Have to repost once the superintendent and Mr. Schwartz go. There their comments. Okay so the. One second and sorry, Miss Kramer. I just had a clarifying question, Madam Chair, and this might be for Mr. Schwartz. So would
That be like an administrative function of the board and would it have to be a public meeting. Or in terms of the handbook, or would it? It would have to be public. He’s saying, okay. Okay, thank you for that. Mr. Lucas. So I don’t know, I thought I thought only Ms..
Smith and I and Ms.. Mackey had had access to the latest SharePoint version because what was sent to everybody initially by Ms.. Mackie was a word version in Microsoft word separate so they could edit offline. And then that was all combined together into a merged version. That merged version is on SharePoint,
But I don’t think everyone has access to it. Is that correct? Ms.. Mackie It’s correct. Okay. To provide access, yeah. So I just sent I just send it to, to you and Ms.. Smith and the the Superintendent. I’m sorry, one more clarification. Hopefully this is the last. Words. Where we are right now.
The superintendent has an offline version that both she and Mr. Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz, excuse me, are working on. Okay. Once they have completed their review, we can then take that version, create a new shared file for everyone to use. So whatever folks have now, please do not waste your energy
Kind of going in and beginning to rattle around because it won’t be saved anywhere. Okay, we’ll be saved, but then we’ll have a variety of different documents. Let’s just pause on that, allow the superintended, Mr. Schwartz, to do their thing, and then we’ll put a new version back online
For folks to begin to comment in that it. Well, let me ask Mr. Schwartz and action of our what is a realistic timeline for you all? Because if we’re still trying to do this by Monday that you know only gives you all maybe a day is that realistic for you to
Complete your review? What? So Mr. Schwartz has given his feedback. I still have additional language and I was going to try to color coded for the for Ms.. Smith and Mr. Lucas with some proposed revisions that I think are amenable in places where the board hasn’t come to consensus yet.
So I’m trying to tie this document as tight as possible so that the board can can sort of find the can see if they would take up any of sort of my compromise positions in a couple of areas. We will. It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow. So we will put our love into this document
And we will have something to Mr. Lucas and Ms.. Smith by the end of tomorrow with big hearts. And so that will give you all a very expedited timeline of reviewing kind of where those are and. We’ll go from there, if that makes sense, to the
Two board members that are chairing that work group. So I just want to clarify. So document. Mr. Schwartz has already completed his review that Navarra will complete hers by tomorrow, she has said, and then send it back to Ms.. Smith and Mr. Lucas. And what will you all do at that point?
Are you all doing another review, the board that adds comments or because otherwise it can just come directly to us? I agree. Okay. You can cut the middle team out. Okay. Yes. If Dr. Navarro wants to work, I mean, Ms.. Mackey works directly for her. So she wants to.
Open this back to go ahead and upload it and just sort of. Send it. I can upload it by the by S.O.B. tomorrow. Shelly and I will upload it and it’ll be a SharePoint accessible to all board members. Okay. Edits to do via SharePoint. So if you need any support, please
Reach out with SharePoint. As you add comments. I think the comment piece is the probably the most helpful piece in SharePoint. So you don’t. So Okay, so just you’re all on the same page. We’re going to, we’re going to only add comments and not do track changes. You can do. Both in
I mean, that was kind of the rub before we’d have eight different people with track changes. Well, I think asking for both. Yeah, I think you should have both, but I would. But I would advise you to do it in comments because we’re going to have a rainbow of colors.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Okay. So comments would be preferable over track changes as to your point, Ms.. I want to make sure we’re on the same page. As I have. I’ll go. I’ll. I’ll go. I’ll go with whatever the floor is. For me, historically, it has easier. Folks have a language preference
That they just have the language in. But when you add the language in, if you have it in track changes, it automatically begins to track the change regardless of who has the document open. Because we’re all working from one document, folks don’t have to change font or change color is like it
Will automatically do it for you if your track changes is on. Okay, so that’s the fact. Miss Math. I’m sorry, Ms.. Thomas, apologize. And another life. And another life and another one. Yeah, I would just for what it’s worth, I think we really need
To rely on the technology to help us a little bit here. So when you when you do the track changes, as Ms. has said, it will do all of that. Who’s coming is what it looks like. And you can actually do the dropdown a show with mark up show original show.
So there is a variety of ways you can view it. And again, I know Ms.. Smith has offered, but if Ms.. Smith is unavailable, I’m happy to help anybody navigate through how to use track changes because the technology can just help us more efficiently get through the process. Okay. All right.
Well, that’s where we’ll leave it then. So everyone in agreement, any questions. all right. Thank you. All right, moving on. Is there any new business note, any future agenda items? Mr. Lucas. Thank you. Ms.. Smalley So a couple of weeks ago, I sat down with Dr. Arlene Abel, who superintendent knows well.
She is the executive director of the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland, which is a facility in Saint Mary’s County. And there are five universities under the university system of Maryland that exists there. And you can get 40 degrees at those universities. So it was a very good talk.
And previously she had asked me to come down when she was giving a presentation. And I think it might be something good for us as a board, but also for the public to see that, you know, right in her backyard. 40 minutes away are a number of universities
Are, you know, are geared for people that maybe you might be on a four year plan, but maybe they’re on a six year plan because they’re working. And they but but they don’t have to travel, say, all the way to College Park or to Baltimore to go to these schools. And so, Dr.
Abell, ask if I could mention it. So I’m mentioning it, I think would be good for people. You know, we have CSM, but but CSM only get you so far and they’re working with CSM too, to to make that that transition as seamless as possible in terms of coursework.
So if that’s something the board like to see, I think could be very beneficial. So she’s proposing to do a presentation presentation. She said 15 or 20 minutes. We in agreement college something to be interested in. Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you. Ms.. Lucas. Any other future agenda items? Right. Thank you.
We’ve already done public forum. All right, now we can do board member updates, and then the last remaining item will be action items. Which fellow Washingtonian do like to start? Yes, I’m I. I’m excited for February 15th. I will be going our summers to offer the career day.
So they have invited my granddaughter invited me so we are going to going talk about our careers and they want us to make sure that we just don’t come unilaterally into. I went to college, I went this way They want us
To talk about our life, how we got to where we at. So I’m going to use me going to the military first. Then I got my degree. Then I went on to federal government. I’m going to use that away because they’ve trying to let students know
At a very early age that everybody does not have to go the same way. So hearing it from people who are in the community, that will probably bear more on them. So I’m excited about going today. all right. Thank you, ma’am. Ms.. Cramer, I’ll go last. You just make our way, I’m sure.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So good evening. I just wanted to start with with sort of an unorthodox for board comments. We usually talk about kind of things that we’ve done in the community and stuff, and I think you all see me plenty. So, you know, you know where I’m at. I’m around.
But I just want to thank all parents and members of the community who have reached out to the board over the last couple of months to provide feedback regarding some of the items, pending items that we’ve discussed and for being engaged and for really reaching out and providing,
You know, some valuable that the board can consider on things such as eligibility policy and other matters that are before the board, because truly, you know, community and parent involvement is really critical to the success of our school system. And we want to hear from you is why we do surveys
And we do public forum and things like that. So I just want to thank everyone who has taken the time to do that and I also want to give a special thanks to see CCAC. I know we talk about Peacock a lot. Our special education Community Advisory Council.
I hope I got their acronym correct. Yeah, I think that sounds fine. Thank you. And we just. Look at it is from now. On. I know, right, exactly. I see so often, but I know sometimes folks don’t you know, they don’t like the acronyms for just being a valuable partner. You know
Ensuring that we keep the voices and needs of our special education population as part of the conversation whenever we’re making decisions. I know for me as a board member, it’s helpful to have that perspective of. And so I just want to thank them
For always answering the call when we ask of them to do so. I also want to just mention how, you know, community partnership are just really critical to the work that we do and the success of our students having serving on the Blueprint. Pillar three Local Advisory Council.
I see firsthand the dedication of business community who give their time, ideas, resources to help ensure that we continue to develop relevant programs and ensure that these programs provide the skills that our students need to succeed. So I want to thank you all for being community partners
And for your dedication to Charles County Public Schools. I also want to thank the chamber, the Charles County Chamber of Commerce, who has really stepped up, I think, over the last year to two years to support at least I’ve seen more support from them in the last
Probably 18 months than I have in my entire time here in Charles County over the last 20 years. And just really want to give a special thank you to them. I had the opportunity to attend the chamber mixer Grow your Own Workforce at Thomas Schoen.
I think it was back in January where the businesses could learn about apprenticeship opportunities and how to support and grow your business while providing opportunities to our students. And I thought that was brilliant. It was a brilliant idea and a way, a true illustration of bringing community together.
There was College of Southern Maryland. TRI-COUNTY You know, the school system and the chamber, as well as numerous businesses and attendance. And so it was a truly a great illustration of community and what we can do together. So just wanted to give some kudos out to, to those community
Organizations and parents and, you know, businesses in our community. I did attend a few events, the prayer breakfast, really quickly. I just want to thank the NAACP, having myself and some of my colleagues. That was truly it’s always a fantastic event. But, you know, I love that they incorporated our youth into program.
And I just it’s just well done. A superb job every year. So thank you for that invitation. I also attended a I for and teachers, which was put on by our technology department. So thank you. Ms.. Thompson. That was great because as a non techie I learned so much about it about that.
And then when I attended the SBA Equity symposium, I actually attended some breakout sessions about technology just because I wanted kind of piggyback off of what I had learned for that session. So I think that was very helpful. So I want to thank you all for doing that.
And of course, I’ve attended a lot of basketball games. Most of you know I’m a basketball fan, so I’ve been at West Lake and McDonough and Lackey and, you know, it’s just I always like to plug our sports programs to make sure that our community is really going out and supporting these kids.
But also, I mean, it’s very cheap to get some really good entertainment. You know, it’s a lot of heart that these kids play with. I mean, a lot of the games come down to nail biters like, you know, the great mills versus West Lake
Last week was like down to the last second in West Lake, one like 55 to 51 or something. I mean, it’s just it’s exciting and it’s something fun. And like I said, you can bring the whole family out for like, you know, bucks. So, you know, despite what you spend,
I guess, at the snack machines or snack bar, rather, right before the tickets. Again, I mentioned the SBA equity symposium. So some of my colleagues at a ten, I know Ms.. Smith and I and Miss Brenda Thomas were there and just wanted to bring back something that that I heard there. Of course,
There was a lot of great educational sessions and things and of course, you know, had a ton of notes that I took from that. But the keynote message sort of more to offer to not only our students, but to us as leaders and as school board members remembering to pour into yourself
Because this work is grueling at times. And we all know you know, what our whys are and why we do it. But in order to to give to our community, the message was that you have to sort of make sure that you’re taking time for yourself and that you pour back into yourself.
And professional development, I think, is a great way us to do that. I really enjoy those opportunities, but also just making sure you take time. This is often a thankless job, as we say a lot, but there’s more important work. And so to try to remember
That, you know, when times get rough in a way to do that is to really make sure that you’re taking time to pour into yourself. Now, one of the things, Principal Pearl, who invited me to the Thomas Phelan Pcso meeting, there was a great candid conversation there. And so just really appreciate
Being transparent and just open to talking with her school community. So lastly, I’ll just say it’s Black History Month, so I encourage everyone to take an opportunity. There’s like tons of events going on at our schools, so, you know, pick one and attend. I had an opportunity already to attend a few
This month and will be attending some more. So just our schools do a really good job of incorporating the students into those programs and the staff does a great job putting those together. So I’ll just make sure that you take take the time to celebrate that. So thank you. Thank you. Ms..
KRAMER Mr. Hancock. Thank you, Madam Chair. I’ll try to be as quick as I can. One of the first things I did was the Overdose Awareness and Prevention Town, and that was really good. There’s a decent turnout I wish that more people had, it turned out because it was very informative.
And one thing that I always tell people that our superintendent is really good at is forming relationships, and she was able to do that with representation from the state, from the county health department and with Sheriff Troy Berry. And they put on a very informative town hall
And I thought that was a really good thing and very educational. So I want to thank the superintendent for that and thank people, everyone who turned out for that also had a chance to attend the Charles County Chamber of Commerce Mic Mixer on the apprenticeship program.
I want to thank Kathy Guzman and everyone at the chamber for partnering with us to help put that on. That was a wonderful experience and a pleasure. I sit on the May Federal Relationship Committee. We had our day on the Hill January 30th, and we got to meet with a staff member
From Chris Van Hollande’s office. And we were supposed to meet with Ben Cardin, but he had an emergency come up last minute, so we didn’t get to meet with him. So it was very brief time that I was there. But, you know, it’s you you go up there sometimes we think the issues
We face here in Charles County are isolated only to us. And that’s not true. You know, I talk to people from different each county has representation in and, you know, we share similar issues and we do have a good team on the federal level representing us that shares their concerns.
Last thing, the town hall on food and nutrition was very informative and I want to thank staff for for putting that on. I also want to let citizens know that when we do these town halls, there is a presentation, but feel free. It’s the town hall.
You’re allowed to speak on any topic that you want. So in the future, if the topic even though this topic was very informative, if it’s not a topic that you have anything to speak on, you still can speak on anything that’s appropriate. So And that’s it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hancock. Mr. Lucas. Thank you, Ms.. Morley. So we’ll shout out the chamber and Kathy Guzman. I think everyone recognizes what a great job she does. And I was there with some board members, as was mentioned on Friday, and I thought said event.
But but the real invigoration to the Chamber of Commerce is in no small part because of her hard work. So thank you very, very much for that. So it is five performing arts once and I went to several events last week the elementary all county chorus at North Point
You know there was something else going on was something at Malcolm going on that night and that everyone a kid could make make it to North Point. Kudos to those students. And thanks to all the music teachers that helped those kids, not just at the elementary level, but
But middle high school as well. I went to one of my favorite events at the Matawan Creek Art Center, the seven Up Art Festival. And thank you again to all our art teachers. It’s amazing how talented these kids are. I not the some of master’s kids. I mean, you know, ninth graders.
But but you know, some of them are 17 and 18. But just the work that you do and delegate Wilson’s daughter got a got a blue ribbon in her category for her artwork. So that was that was very good. I always enjoy that. And I went to the Skills USA
Competition at North Point, the award ceremony. We had a lot of winners. So that’s competition in the tri county area and we had a lot of winners in various categories. So congratulations to all of them. And I went with Miss Perkins, a student board member to North Point in Davis,
Where she asked the students at lunchtime to talk about the eligibility policy. As was mentioned about lunch. And and you got a variety of answers about lunch. I’ll let her talk about that when she’s here. And also the bell schedule. So I know she’s going to bring that back to the board
And to the superintendent for some follow up. And as as Mr. Hancock mentioned, he sits on a committee in May, and I sit on the legislative committee, and this time of year, things move fast and furious. But if you ever want
To get the latest on any bill, if you go to the Maib Web site under advocacy and then 2024 legislative session, you can there’s links there to get the latest updates, provisions and where a bill is in the process. This past Saturday, the chess tournament at Lackey High School.
And I have to say, Mr. Felix Cummings has been doing this ever and his wife’s a teacher and she helps and a lot of people help it, but they have been the Star Worth’s behind that. And she’s a teacher at Indian Head, so thank you. Congratulations to all the winners.
And last but not least, I want to say March 1st for all you students and parents listening, that is the deadline to get in your scholarship applications for Charles County Scholarship Fund, which offers a variety there. They’re just a conduit, but you need to get your work in.
And 90% of the applications come in in the last three days. So the earlier you can get it in, it’s it makes life easier for a lot of people through March 1st and sleep on that because there’s a lot of money out there, a lot of money out there.
And we talked a little bit earlier about fast for now, for anyone doing that, I don’t have to tell you that they made some changes to that and it’s quite, quite a hiccup, put it mildly, for a lot of people. And what I would encourage everyone to do, particularly
If you’re applying for a need based scholarship, if you have not filled out an application for free and reduced meals, please do so, because particularly with the fast, we’re not being fully cooperative. Now, if you can do that and demonstrate that, that that might help in lieu of fast food,
Depending on on what everything gets fixed and it helps us to is the school system knowing how many people even if you don’t eat school lunch, if think you might qualify, even if you think you don’t, if you can fill out that free and reduced lunch application, that really helps.
So with that, thank you very much. Mr. Kessler Smith Thank you. Chairwoman Morley. So just a few things definitely want to echo the sentiments that Ms.. Cramer shared in terms of parents and community members reaching out to board members to share their input, their stories on terms of how policies impact
Their families, how their policies impact a business. While the majority of us up here are parents, we do know sort of how things impact just our children. So being able to hear the multitude of stories, if you change this language, this is how it would directly impact my family.
If you change this language, this is how would impact me as a teacher or coach or, you know, a volunteer in the school system, sort of working with the chess club, but being able to hear a variety of different perspectives on how the work that we do here
Impacts people in the community is key. So definitely one echoed those sentiments. Some of my colleagues also had the opportunity to attend the ACP Martin Luther King Jr Prayer Breakfast. Very well done. Very well done. Definitely a shout out and kudos to the ACP
Shout out to all of the students who were volunteering. Got those volunteer hours to assist and help out. Of course, you know, the Northpoint Culinary program never fails. They never fail. They are always a hit. But also having like our students who are on the step team, just being able
To display their talents and all of the different clubs and organizations they are in for the attendees. One of the highlights for me was a conversation that I had with Dr. Evelyn Bryant Ward. She serves as the time to play a town council member, but she’s also the director
For operations for the University of Maryland, Charles Regional Medical Group. And she was explaining to me sort of the conversation she has with doctors when she’s trying to recruit them to coming to this area. And education is always top of line in which they’re saying, I’ve gone
Into the school system, I’ve checked to see sort of how well and the health of your school system. And I feel like I can work in this county because education is so strong. I think oftentimes we see that direct correlation between education and teacher and student education in parent.
But in terms of the general economic health of the county, education is at the crux of that conversation. And so that was definitely kind of a helpful reminder for me and definitely one to share with my board members as well as the public around how important having a strong economically excuse me, strong
Education system is to the economy. Both local and, of course, National was able to attend the ESAW parent night at Jennifer Eye opening, eye opening even for me as, a monolingual household, I’m sad to say, we are on Duolingo, which we’re trying to learn two languages, which is slow going,
But being in a household where parents are both trying to deepen their students along with their child’s learning in their home language, but also support them in learning a secondary language. We had parents who literally raced from work. They were like, I couldn’t stop to pick up my kids.
I only I can come out, but I’m here to get all the tools. I’m here to listen in. Just a captivated audience. And I think the ESOL team here at central office had a wonderful job of really breaking down some teaching strategies, some learning strategies, things that parents can do at home
To further and deepen the learning for those students outside of the classroom, such as well done to those educators and administrators, as well as kudos to the parents who took the time to come out and get those that information. Lastly, I will share, was able to attend small talk.
Ms.. Kramer shared both. She, myself as well as Miss Brenda Thomas, were able to attend the SBA Equity Summit. I gave a quick shout out to professional development. If we do not leave the county and hear from colleagues both around the state of Maine, but also nationally,
We are not able to benchmark benchmark promising practices. We are not able to learn from other counties of stories that they are willing to share and tell but also the data that backs it up that could inform how we do our work. One of the sessions I attended was systems don’t change
Until people do. Let me say that again. Systems don’t until people do. That was led by our Baltimore City Public Schools equity director Dr. Tracy Duran. Excuse me. She walked very deeply into all of the equity work that they have been doing in Baltimore City for a number of years. To do systems
Work is not something that happens overnight. You have to dedicate the time the resources to truly go deep in order to impact the deep change they’re looking into. They’re calling out systemic harm by name. They’re intentionally trying to repair the harm that was previously done. I’m talking about harm.
We’re talking about redlining in the city of Baltimore. And so being able to call it out more explicitly and figure out like, how do we undo that support Students also had an opportunity to attend a session called Talking about Justice and Advocacy Stewardship, a sustainable student led equity practices model
That centers in the title. Students were able to hear from our colleagues at Creighton School District out in Phenix, Arizona, about the deep work they’re doing there. I had a chance to from their board chair as well as their superintendent, about how they’re putting equity practices and strategies into the hands of students
And trying to amplify their voice and doing their own work. One of the quotes they shared that I thought was pretty moving and powerful was from Dr. Martin Luther King, which is power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. We are in positions of power.
Essentially what they called out and trying to figure out ways that we’re able to shift that power into the hands of students, for them to be able to learn and do things a bit more deeply at their level. The last thing I will show you, I know we got to go.
I’m just not I know some people want to meet Dr. Stephen Hawking. Some people want to meet Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. I always wanted to meet Dr. Temple Grandin. I had a conversation with Mr. Hancock about this because she essentially revolutionized the farming industry. But at two years old,
She was diagnosed with brain damage because there was no term for autism. It wasn’t until adulthood that she was diagnosed with autism. So essentially she led an entire plenary session on, visual thinking, visual learning, and just I mean, some of the things that she shared
With us were just awe inspiring and truly invoke sort of much, much deeper thought and exploration from looking at object visualizer to spatial visualizations. These are the folks who are highly skilled trades such as mechanics, welders, art, the arts, graphic spatial visualization of computer science and engineering and music.
But these are folks who test out of those subjects because they can’t pass algebra. So thinking intentionally about how are we supporting all kids and being able to access the curriculum, all kids are being able to access opportunity regardless of what we believe they’re able to do in math.
But truly finding innovative ways of getting these kids into firm careers. I know that’s my time. I have so much more. I also serve on the MABE Conference Planning Committee, and we’re working on our next conference upcoming. I’ll have more to share on that at a later date. Thank you. I appreciate that.
You know, some have a lot to share with. We may need to candidly reconsider, time limits. You know, just trying to be fair to everyone because I know we went over but alone with Brenda Thompson. You know, my ass is going to be really short today.
I also went to the Innis Bay Symposium. I’m the speaker Alex Baugh really, really impressed me. I mean, I was so impressed of his story of how he was homeless. He was molested, he was challenged in so many ways, but came out of that being a performer.
He performed for all the stars out there. I think he said beyond, say, the all of and I want to read this what they had up there and make sure it is possible this is what he put up there for us all to read.
I must say you so don’t try to tell me there’s so much potential inside me because at the end of the day I will never measure up. I need more experience. I have been struggling too long and I don’t try to convince me and don’t try to convince me
That there is real value inside of me because deep down I know I am useless and nothing you say will make me. I will make it in this world. I’m a reader from the bottom up. I will make it in this world
And nothing you say will make me believe I am useless because deep down I know there is real value inside of me. And don’t try to me that I’ve been struggling too long. I need more experience. I’ll never measure up because at the end of the day
There is so much potential inside of me, so don’t try to touch me. I’m afraid that impressed me so much. I think all the students will get benefit for something like that. If they hear it, they’re struggling. I move on to next.
I also went to the one in Annapolis with everybody else. I got to meet a lot of people there and I was very interested and I like that. I went to the gallery also and I went to any elementary school with Chairperson Moore,
Which I will let her talk more about that because of my eyes. It’s gonna be short. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing. It’s appreciated that. Thanks so much. As as many of my colleagues I’ve spent some time go into. I did the May the new board member session,
Which was really good because I got to interface. With some new board members in other. Counties and to hear, you know, kind of what they’re struggling with in their county as new board members. So that was really eye opening for me. But then I also got to go to the opiate
Health session and it was really good. Mr. Hancock and I were both there. I was really appreciative that Sheriff Berry, as well as Dr. Abney, were there as well. As you know, we had state representation. The person appointed by our governor, Wes Moore,
She was also here to really get down to the details of what it means to have addictions in your household and how it affects the whole family. There were people from the community that came out. It was a great session and at the end I got Narcan.
I’m certified so I was able to take a ride in the hallway. They teach you how to administer Narcan. They gave you like a little kit so that you you know, if you see someone in distress, you can share that. I would highly encourage people to go to the health department. Doctor Dr.
Adams staff has done a good job about having a community resource for anybody who may, you know. Fitness is very big and it’s affecting students and our community. So I was happy to get in. I came certified right there in the hallway. It was great.
I also really appreciate it having started to begin working with the Chamber of Commerce on the the committees and see how, you know, our community is really embracing, trying to do apprenticeships for our students, which is great. I’ve been to a number of basketball games, excited to see the girls play.
We went to the McDonough game and looked down on the played and both of them gave a valiant effort, though one had to be the winner. It was really good. I also went to Malcolm Elementary’s Black History Day program was awesome. If you’re a native Washingtonian, they made it very relevant.
So they had people that were not just, you know, talking about the things that we always talk about, about black history. But they also had someone who gave the history of Go-Go music, which was really great. And then we got to meet an author, Brianna Thomas
No relation, but Thomas, as you know, which is great. So Brianna Thomas, she is an author of a book called Black Broadway, and she chronicled a lot of the things in the nation’s capital about black history, Broadway, the history of Washington, D.C. And she is a Thomas Stone graduate.
So that was really good to meet her. It’s a kind of listen to, you know, what she has what how she became an author. She was inspiring young minds at Malcolm Elementary. So that was really good. They did a fabulous, fabulous job of being able to make things relevant.
So I was excited to attend that also went to a school visit of a player, Mr. Dolan, and I was with my board colleague, my photog Chairman Moore. You know, Morley, we got great pictures. We also got to see the inspiring things
That are going on at La Plata High, which was really great. So those are some things that I have been doing this time and I’ve been excited to just be embraced by the schools, see what they’re doing, and also see how relevant the curriculums and the coursework is becoming for our students
So that it’s not how we were educating the past, but really relevant to them being able to be their best future selves. So thanks so much. Ms.. Warren So I did. I also attended an SBA conference and I attended the ACL session on
Hold On, let me let me get the name right. It was on Equity and ACL. So, you know, that’s near and dear to my heart. So I got it’s called Student Well-Being for All, an equity centered approach for social emotional learning. So I got some information from there.
So good presentation. I’m waiting on that. Still waiting on the PowerPoint, but it was pretty good and I look forward to looking over those that presentation again so I can glean from it and share a little further. I also attended the May Legislative Day reception, which was pretty nice and again,
You know, kind of just mingled a little bit with people that were there. I also am part of the May equity Committee as well, So I attended my first meeting with that and that was very, very interesting and I was able to report out. We talked about hold on first I told you
So, like I had my stuff up and then I’m moving around. It’s like, so what? I want to just capture this real quick. But we look, we talked about what our you know, there’s some of the schools how how the school systems are implementing our equity policy. Some of the barriers were having
Challenges and stuff like that. So I was able to report out kind of what we’ve been doing and it just, you know, it felt good to report out all the great things that we’re doing in our county around our equity task force that we have. So I shared on that.
And last but not least, that i did attend the h.r. Training. Kudos to Ms.. Majors. So i did do that. I’m very excited to be a part of the recruitment team. Yay. I can’t wait to go out and with with that. And so that’s it for now. Thank you. Thank you, Ms.. Warren.
I will be brief, which everyone always says before they’re long, Right? No, I know. I mean, I will be. I apologize to Ms.. Majors for missing the recruitment training I intended to come, but alas, fourth grade boys like to, you know, have playground scuffles, so I had to handle that. Pleased to report
It was resolved using peaceful restorative practices. So I will I’ve done recruitment before, but I will. I will There. We have to practice what we preach. Right. So I will meet up with you as majors. I have to shout. McDonough High School for coaches versus cancer is very personal to me.
As a breast cancer survivor, it was a fantastic evening. Proudly walked my shirt. We had a great time. It’s such a fabulous idea. I’ve never heard of anything like that. So I believe that is something they intend to do. So you will be seeing a lot
More of me and ACP Prayer breakfast as was said. I look forward to that. Every year is something like 500 people and it’s fantastic. I’m glad to see was back at North Point so we can go back to our culinary arts students near and dear to our hearts.
I did visit Indian Head Elementary with Miss Brenda Thomas and very, very excited for all of the work that they’re doing for the new Thank You school based health center that is coming to see the pantry and all of the things that they provide the students. It is quite something to see.
Very much appreciate their hospitality. We were there for about two and a half hours and so they walked us through every aspect of that school. And similarly, when we were at La Plata High School with Mr. Miesha Thomas, really enjoyed meeting and chatting with Principal Dolan. There’s much to be proud of.
Shout out to the theater arts department. They will be doing Miss. I squealed like a four year old girl, as you know, As I always say, you know, I’m a thespian. It really enjoyed the town hall and food and nutrition. Those that were asking is at the request of our student board member.
This is something that her constituents have been asking for. So we were pleased to be able to present it. But as Mr. Hancock said, you’re free to speak on anything that is appropriate at the town halls. As you know, we did get some feedback on that. Also shout out to Dr.
Blanford and Ms.. Lugo, the Pillar for Mental Health Subcommittee. They’re doing some incredible work. I very much enjoy meetings and learning about the mental health supports that we’re offering our students. It is making a difference. The data is starting to reflect that. So I’m very hopeful
And very much excited about what we’re offering. Also, as Mr. Lucas mentioned, the Chamber of Commerce, we’ve been to their mixer, the Board of Directors inauguration, the Business and Education Committee. Ms.. Cathy Guzman is a phenomenal job and they have something else coming up later this week that I’m looking forward to attending
Legislative reception in Annapolis. It’s fantastic. I very much appreciated being able to interact with our legislators and to discuss the current things that are priorities for me. And finally, as was mentioned, thank you to Ms.. Thompson for the presentation. That was that was spectacular. I believe it’s up on our website
If it is for anyone that may have missed it. Right. So feel free. So thank all for all of that. We will now move to action items and we’re going to go a little bit out of order because I believe Ms.. Fisher Davis needs to leave.
So we can I mean, just not tryin it’s perfectly fine. We’re running late, so thank you for hanging with us. So I just want to make sure we can, you know, wasn’t trying to call you out at all, Ms.. Fisher. Davis Yeah, we are. We’re well over an hour late, so.
Yeah, Come on up. It’s okay. So it’s Fisher Davis these days. You hanging in there with. So the action item is the superintendents propose fiscal year 2024 2025 operating budget. Is there a motion Accept the budget? Mr. Lucas Motion we accept the budget is presented. All right. Is there a second?
Ms.. Butler Washington Is there any discussion? Okay. Sorry. Real quick. Sure. Famous first words, right? So I just like to to well, first off, thank you, Dr. Navarro, for for, you know, generating a budget that that went into detail about where and how our funds are going to be spent.
I just want to just put this bug in everybody’s ear, the board and the commissioners as well. A few years ago, I think I think it was five years ago, I sat on an ad hoc committee. It may and it was an equity committee that that looked
Each county’s ability to fund the blueprint. And it was based on historical funding that that their county had given to the school system. And we’ve been very fortunate, fortunate better, better than the majority of counties in the state in receiving funds that exceeded maintenance of ever. And so we looked
Really good at being able to fund the blueprint. Now, that study was five years ago when it looked at data, I think it was 5 to 10 years previous to that. When you start looking at the student population areas that the is focused on, we have increased in those areas dramatically.
That’s that’s all through the presentation. So I don’t I say that because, you know, four or five years ago we looked really good. Right. And as Ms.. Acton mentioned in her last presentation, this is kind of a leaner year for our blueprint requirement that’s going to continue, grow up to go up, combined
With what I just said that a few years ago, it looked like things were were a lot rosier. And when you take into account that we’re only funding personnel to 98% and that we’re dipping into the fund balance. Right. So we’re doing all these things because we want to do what’s right.
But when we look at future budgets, you know, all those things that are blueprint and are mandatory really need to have a lot of scrutiny on them because we have to be able to fund the blueprint. And and the commissioners need to be aware of that, too.
So I just wanted to make that comment. But thank you again for putting together a very thorough budget. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Ms.. Kramer. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just really quickly, I do want to thank you all again for the work that you did. I really liked this here.
We have sort of a different presentation and breakdown in addition to, I guess, what is called the traditional sort of line item budget. Right. Which is kind of more difficult to read. But the presentation that accompanied it, which is available on board for the benefit,
The public and I felt like that was really helpful to break down. And I highlighted a few things because we have multiple discussions about budget before, but to really see where the money is going right, And you even entitled one of the slides I think where where the money goes, right? Slide 16.
So I encourage the public if you want to know where this the money is going, where the money in the budget is that we’re asking for and why we’re asking it and what we intend to do with it. All that information is available in that fantastic presentation that you all have put together.
I also want to Slide 20, as Mr. Lucas was talking about, the blueprint cost all outlined there. What we’re intending to spend directly related to the blueprint on that, which I think is around $3 million on that particular slide and obviously not all inclusive, but the items that you highlighted there
And then slide 24, which I particularly highlighted in one of our previous discussions about instruction costs and all of the increase in the things that we want, our students to have and these programs that we want to expand, like the AP African-American studies.
You know, when we first said we were going to pilot it, what do we hear from the community and parents? But we want to every every school. Okay. But that comes with a price tag, right? And we want to have to, you know, to be able to offer these programs,
You know, at all schools or as many schools as we can, you know, to as many students as we can, you know, textbooks, resources, you know, some of the online learning that we use curriculum material for is just so many things, over $400,000 that we’re using to fund city programs.
You know, these things add up. And so I just wanted that for the benefit of the public, for the community to know that this information is available on our website. You can take a look at that if you want. You know, to see there’s as much detail you could possibly ever need
That’s there. And also for, you know, to our commissioners to just say, you know, please consider all of these things because we wouldn’t be able to do everything that we want to do and continue to do and offer for our students without, you know, their full support. So thank you to Mayor.
Just one quick question. Is acting for the benefit of the public, can you please remind everyone what happens after we vote this evening if we vote to pass the budget, what are the next steps? Sure. So the immediate thing I want to mention, Ms.. Morley, is that there’s a transmittal letter that Ms..
Prescott has for. You to sign if it’s approved and I. Right. This becomes part of this package. Sure. We have to submit this on February 28th to the county. Okay. And then the county releases their budget. I think it’s April 16th. Yes, April 16th. And at that point, we will have to first
Look at what they are proposing to give us. Okay. And then. They. The county adopts the budget formally on May 14th, but there’s a hearing in between there that hopefully we have have some advocates for our budget before they make the final decision.
And then at that point, you know if we’re not funded fully, then we have to discuss what’s going to stay in the budget and what’s going to go out of the budget by finalize that for a final vote. In either the end of May or the beginning of.
June, depending on how all those numbers come out. We normally get a final state number as well, but it may be that we approve the budget without that final number and then amend it. If it comes in at a different, different number, we can’t count on when the state releases those final numbers.
Yeah, I remember last year. Yeah. We remember. Thank you, Ms.. Acton. All right. There’s no further discussion. All right, All in favor. All right. That is unanimous. Thank you. But that’s. Thank you, ladies, much. Appreciate it. Thank you. I know, right? I’ll be right back up here. Okay. Next up are the minutes.
So what I’m seeing here, we have the January 9th regular meeting minutes. It’s fair motion to approve this agreement. Second by Mr. Meisha Thomas. Any discussion? All right. All in favor is unanimous. Thank you. Next up is the January 22nd work session minutes. Is there motion to approve. A move to approve?
Thank you, Miss. But Washington is our second. Mr.. Mr.. Hancock. No worries. All right. All in favor. All right. Is unanimous. Thank you. Next step is personnel. I motion to approve personnel action items. Madam Chair, we need to approve the executive session minutes. I did.
I didn’t see it on the. Yeah, they won’t. They won’t be here. Those are the ones in our folder. Yeah. Yeah. So that would be from January. There was January and December. December. So. Okay. Thank you. Mr.. Look at the December 1st up, the December executive session minutes.
All right. Is that motion to. Okay, Miss Kramer. Second, my Ms.. Brenda Thomas. All right. Any discretion? All in favor. All right. As unanimous. Thank you. And next, the January 9th executive session. Minutes. Motion to approve. So moved. Mr. Thomas. Second. I’m assuming you. Tom. I’m sorry, Mr. Lucas.
Now you’re and I got less. I think everybody saw that. Mrs. Smith, just change your last name. It’ll be easier. Everybody’s Thomas. George Foreman. Mr. Lucas, seconded by Mr. Thomas. All in favor? All right. It’s unanimous. Thank you. All right, now we can go to personnel. All right.
As a motion to approve the personnel item. Thank you, Miss Smith. Second By Ms.. Kramer discussion. All right. All in favor? All right. There’s unanimous. Thank you. Yeah, This is where it starts to get a little tricky. Now we have the eligibility policy. Yes, miss. But the Washington I will like to.
To ask for amendment to the eligibility policy. Okay. And I provided to you all a copy of what was presented there. And what I’m going to do is I’m not going to read through this, but what I’m going to do is just to highlight the changes that I heard everybody was talking about.
And, you know, that was very hard for me because I was absolutely no on this. So I had to remove my biases myself from this whole thing. So what I did was I looked at some research from Harvard, Columbus, Columbus, and the University of Pennsylvania that had some great ones.
And they all lined up and stated that academic and extra curriculum or hand in hand that that it is what a child needs. And so by looking at that, I wanted to try to find something that says, by providing a child a opportunity to get a f,
I didn’t see any research on that. So but it was a number on one of the surveys, so I called the number and actually spoke with someone. So I ask them questions like How do you go about providing a learner charge at a F in this day
And age when we got all the resource, all the tools and we can do things better? And I asked the question, would it be an issue if, if we say or if it was presented that we allow students to get a F in NONCREDIT or slash elective classes.
So not a major, not like a waiting list. Not a wait it because. and then he said, I never heard that, but that’s a great idea. So the reason I say that is because I don’t want us to just arbitrary say get a F and then they end up
Not being able to graduate. And then you go down and then not being able graduate for the F because if you could get one F, you can get all in, in math because we haven’t determined anything. So and then at the end what happens is the job graduate will be at this
Podium saying it’s our fault because we allowed their child to fail in that graduate. So looking at the whole list of the whole thing. So that’s why I want to visit some of these things. So what I’m going to do if I’m allowed just to go down and just take the highlights
And then we can discuss from there. So what I have presented to you all was integrated in the eligibility policy, the grading policy. Do do not apply to ninth grade, just like we had already agreed. So there’s no change, No. Change in it.
Okay, so the r B is a way to grade should be used for academic eligibility for extracurricular activity. Main and Noncredit elective courses will be the only f acceptable for eligibility weighted grades are math, English, art, language, history, science that determines if you met the requirements for graduation.
The next part I put here because I heard someone talking about their marking periods for the season and you’re long in the policies. So I separate those so people can see what was the the season in a year long. And then in that same document in a printed and
Marking period is the dates for report card. So the everybody can see you must meet eligibility on this date. So in that policy you’ll see it has like well I think once in September the market appears November the 15th and then the other one is March. The first is the marking periods.
And then this document also adds in trials eligibility, because when you try not, you still need to be eligible. So it is very easy for them to be able to determine if the child, if they can be able to do it. And then we went on to say
That the summer classes is in there. So you can be able to take a summer class to be able to make up your fill in grades, to be able to be eligible. So we talked about some people, some someone talked about, well, what if you can do summer classes to make it up?
So in the document we have that in there that they can be able to replace their great with the summer. Great great to have an essay that can be able to be eligible for the for the for the curriculum. And then we got
Somebody who wrote in and talked about the IEP and available for requirements. So and I did understand it and it knew they wanted to be equal for all the students. So we put some language in there to have the, the IEP five 14 to have some say so
And to the requirements for them to be able to be a play in the sports and stuff. So we didn’t want to just leave it and say we need well, actually we need their input for that because we’re not in the teachers are not experts on that.
We don’t want to bring them into the fold for because we want to make sure that we’re doing due diligence. And we did make sure that we hear from those groups of people and then we add it responsible to all parties. Because I heard Sean say, you know,
The teacher was worried about that. They don’t want to have all these responsibilities for. So we had the parents sign it off. Then after that, then it would be review to make sure it is eligible and you go down the line and make sure that everybody has a responsibility
And making sure that the student is eligible to be able to play and to me, this is a scholar athlete, athlete policy that students, parents and the school we should be proud of. And when you say we miss about the Washington. Who is this presented on behalf of?
Did you work with someone with this or that? I say I showed it to a doctor in the bar and she said, I have to bring it to the board to amend it. So. All right. Which sorry, will you finish your last point or.
Then I would just like to say my last thing was that I move that the eligibility policy be amended to, include the following agreed verbiage within the document. Okay. Respectfully missed by the Washington. This is not a this is a substantive change to to what we currently have.
I look to my colleagues, if anyone would like to provide input, but this is I think Yeah, well sorry. Yeah, well, I. Think. So. Yeah. I think we need to bring the action item to the, to the table first and then we will propose an amendment.
Her her amendment is. Yeah, her amendment is on the floor. So we do need a second and then we can, we can discuss. So is there Okay. Ms.. Warren. All right, so now we’re we’re discussing Isabella Washington’s proposed amendment to the policy, which is what she’s presented us with.
So it incorporates some of the original language. But then she also has some some additional changes. KRAMER And then. Ms.. SMITH Thank you, Madam Chair, and I appreciate the Washington bringing this before the board. I will say I have I had an opportunity to review
All of it since we did receive this today. But I did have a few comments that I wanted to share with my colleagues about some the items that comparing to what the recommendation is from Dr. Jones and Mr. Paola that are different and so so the first one is in item
B with no more than one failing grade from a Noncredit course. So distinguishing that it can only be a Noncredit course for me is problematic because of the data that we receive from Mr. Paoli and Dr. Jones that a lot of the courses were math, I think, or English
Language arts, if I remember, if I remember correctly. And so that would still put a lot of kids out. And I know some of the things that we’ve talked about were, you know, not wanting to discourage our students from challenging themselves, right? So if they take an AP course and they fail,
You know they wouldn’t be eligible under this proposal. But under the proposal from Dr. Jones and Mr. Pauley, they would. And so that’s that’s the first thing stood out to me also, I think logistically, just trying to to determine whether it was a way
To course or not, what type of course it was, just might add an extra layer on top. Secondly, and C, saying that a student must earn academic eligibility prior to the start of the activity. So this is a little vague for me. So under the current recommendations from the superintendent.
We’re saying that is based on the previous quarter and then item six was added saying that students may gain eligibility at the quarter interim mark. So this sounds to me that you’re eliminating that piece. Is that was that your intention? No. So you want them to still be able to regain eligibility
At the interim? Okay. So that was this a little bit unclear to me. There as well as in number two, where it says year long and then item C, a student who has not earned academic eligibility prior to the start of the activity for a particular frame,
May not become eligible during the course of the activity. So then that’s sort of contradictory because that means that during the course if they got an interim that that there was improving, that they still wouldn’t be eligible because that’s during the course of activity, particularly for sports that we talked
About that span or programs that span like clubs that span throughout multiple quarters and semester is basketball, SGA, you know, whatever else, multiple programs. Like if they lose it, they can’t. Retain it. Correct. And that’s why I was asking so that that’s how I interpreted it. So those are just a few things
As far as I got, candidly, because as I said, we just got this today, But those are some things that I consider problematic and that it would be hard for me to support this language. So those are my comments. Okay. Ms.. Smith then, Ms.. Solicitor.
Certainly I want to start off by thanking our colleague, Mr. Butler, Washington, for doing some benchmarking and looking into other systems to see sort of what has happened and what’s been helpful in other places and bringing it before the full board. My one of my concerns is that just now
Receiving this, I need more time to digest. I mean, this is I know in past conversations we’ve talked about like the length of documents and being able to fully digest and fully understand. So I definitely will need more time. So I’m able to cast my vote for it today.
I will say that I too, have concerns between credit delineation between credit and noncredit courses. Be elective like your elected courses, electives, elective courses that that’s what. Yes. So they are core subjects and electives to me should be looked at the same way. Yeah. There shouldn’t be a split
Between you’ve received a 3.0 in credit bearing courses and you have 8.5 and elective courses. So there’s to me there should not be a separation excuse me between those two types of courses. Essay elected courses, meaning that they, those courses you don’t have to have for graduations.
The way that courses are the ones you need to have graduation requirements. Right. And I think what I’m saying is that if a student has elected to incorporate this into their course load, then it’s all balanced. It all counts towards their GPA. There is no you’re taking math and science,
Which are core subjects, and you have a400, but you’re now taking French and aeronautics. I’m making up courses. I don’t think we even have that. Yes, you’re taking French nutrition. You have a point five. You haven’t exerted yourself. But for purposes of eligible eligibility, we’re not going to look at that.
No, no. They all go together in my book. So B for me is problematic, but I’ve only gotten as far as the sort of given that we just received this today. So in full disclosure, I will need more time to digest and understand
Before I’m able to cast my vote, either yay or nay. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. So I saw this and I did it on the on our break. I did go through it quite extensively because I was very excited to see that there’s a couple of things that were great in this document.
I saw the elimination of days of attendance, so that was good. I did not see Day’s attendance. So my first question is, did you intend to make this an amendment to eliminate the days of attendance? Because I think that is fabulous.
And we appreciate that work that you did to help us get there. Woo! I like it. I like it was back to Washington. The other thing that I did back and look through and and as you put this together and I read through it,
I did want to just do some alignment with issue requirement in order to be eligible for a scholarship for division one, two or three level in addition to eligibility to be able to play at the high school level. And one of the things that I think where I see
Both of my colleagues has some issue is weighted versus non weighted and or I’m going to say graduation requirements in the NCAA, the core requirements. So you have to take four years of English, three years of math, you have to take two years of a science, you have to take an extra year
Of English, math or science two years of social studies, and you have other academic courses. But there’s a weighted system that requires you in order to get to a certain point average and wait that wait is great if you just want to focus on certain things, but at the end of the day,
Your GPA matters, your total GPA. So you have to have a total GPA of above 2.3 to be eligible for a scholarship. And so to Ms.. Smith’s point, I think we may have to do a little bit of work to figure out what you’re counting, what you’re not counting.
The other thing that I know my other colleagues didn’t get very far, but I did, and I got to the special education section, which just I caused middle angst because there is a term that you have in here that says only if the IEP education program team determines
That there’s failure to meet the academic average. Calmness is a direct result of not providing free and appropriate public education that just gave me a little bit of angst here because having had several having been in IEP advocate, having had several students, my personal on an IEP
That is so ambiguous and to have it have that fall into the hands of groups of people saying, well, was it free and appropriate that at times may not have anything to do with whether you struggled in the class? Right. And so I that special education
Piece to me is it it really does need some more evaluation and a different level. So but I do appreciate and I would like to send kudos over to you, getting rid of the number of days of attendance. I think that’s great. And I do think there’s some pieces here
That we could potentially use that could help us. The last piece to Mr. Shawn Hayles Point, who came in earlier with the rigor on the last page of this, asking for sponsors to verify eligibility, the one that that stood out to me that you have here was principal designee certify prior to
I think it is here and prior to going into an activity that they have to come to the first game. I think we heard that that’s a lot. It’s very onerous on that. The teachers or the sponsors who this is, you know, an additional work for them. I know Mr.
Parlay talks about the fact that there is a system that does that. I think if we let the system do the work, perhaps we don’t have to put that burden directly on people to be verifying right before activities because that’s a bit much. But Kudos to you. Ms.. It’s part of Washington.
We get rid of those number of absences. I am. Excited. I’m excited. Thank you for the work. Ms.. Warren. I just have some comments and General, I didn’t have a chance to look through this either, but it sounds like we can some we need time to look through it
And that there are good things in this. What you’ve mentioned, the NCAA. The NCAA. The National. Collegiate Athletic. Association, and they have a clearinghouse. Students have to go through in order to be able to be eligible for sports and activities. And there’s a requirement before being able to sign a scholarship.
Or be awarded scholarship schools. And I just would thank you. County public. Schools. Just. Let that play. What you saying my academic achievement the read to yes but probably it just got to. I got turned on. And you know with all due respect
To everything that everyone’s saying, I am a former athlete, believe it or not, from way back when. I appreciate sports. I love sports. I love track is my favorite. But, you know, when I hear the NCAA, it’s like, are we preparing kids go, you know, to school for sports?
Are we preparing them for life? You know, I just don’t want to get stuck just looking at those that pieces. I like I said, I respect sports, respect athleticism, but I just don’t want to pin us into just you know, just just using that as a I don’t know, just a
US benchmark or standard or whatever for what we’re talking about here. As I looked at this again and everything from the attendance piece to the allowing one F, what I realize is the issue is the grading policy itself. And I think I saw something in the agenda.
We’re going to look at the way the weighting of the the grades and all. So I think for me, the attendance piece, we have some things on our website that I looked at with the red light, green light, yellow light piece and I also write a couple articles, educational articles
About attendance and some things that other school systems are doing about around attendance. And what I would suggest is around attendance would be that we implement the attendance review board. Okay, before We get before the the attendance becomes an issue, truancy and things like that.
If we could put a attendance review board in place to get to the root cause of why students not coming to school, as I said, I read an article School district in Texas. They did that and it was successful. And not only that, I went back and read a press release
From 2018 from Charles County Public Schools, where a student had to be out of school due to some family issues and then got hurt playing lacrosse and talked about how the community, you know, wrapped around her, the principal, the teachers. And they just kind of supported her, her loss
And just things that she went through. So the Attendance review board could help to support students and really build relationships with families to get to the root of why students are not the school. So that’s where I’m in. I’m okay with the attendance fees after I read several articles on both sides.
The you know, it’s a national issue, but I’m okay with I think it’s something on our website. Again, the yellow, red and green light piece. Have somebody pulled it up on the attendance page where our attendance policy is and. It talked about the number of days. You know,
I think it’s less than nine or something that were in that that was a good a good number or something like that wouldn’t impact grades. So where I’m at on attendance, I’m I’m there. But as far as this piece, I think the underlying issue or bigger conversation, the grading policy itself
And just the whole process and that’s a whole another policy. So because it’s in a in the eligibility policy, it’s just like tucked in there. So we I feel like we would have to address the grading policy and the weighing of the grades in this state.
And I do like the idea, even as a former health somebody said it. Ms.. Smith you talked about every class being an equal, but I know you were kind of saying something else different than where I’m going with it because I respect the elective classes.
You know, I used to be an elective teacher. So, you know, they prepare plan like everybody else for, you know, lessons and stuff. But I understand also look but La Washington is saying about, you know, what they need to graduate. So I’m open for the discussion.
I’m here for it but I just that’s where I’m at with it. But I think that the under the the like I said the other the other side of that coin is the grading policy. Outside of the eligibility policy. I feel like whatever decision we make that
If that grading policy isn’t looked at, it doesn’t it kind of it’s like, what are we talking about? You know, So that’s that’s kind of where I’m at with everything. Think from is Brenda Thomas. Either one of you want to weigh in? Mr. Hancock. Thank you. And, you know, to a degree,
I want to agree a little bit with with Ms.. Warren. You know, my whole issue with this requirement in general is that, you know, we’re we’re we’re changing the system or attempting to change the system because we’re saying that certain individuals can’t possibly make it. And I have a big problem with that.
And I think instead of doing that, I think we need to. Focus on issues that that may be holding individuals back or how do we help students with IEPs obtain the GPA they or how do we help these students that are missing school? How do we help them attend school?
You know, I personally that’s the that’s my thinking how we approach this. And that’s the only input I have. And thank you once again. You don’t have to I’m just curious if you have any. I’m old school, so you know how that is for me.
I think to me personally, we’re making so many changes. We got to demand these kids kind of like help us with because I’m like discipline. I’m having an issue with that. And we keep making changes and keep making for the kids so they can better move on.
But we also need to put a stand. We’re okay. You guys have to do what you need to do to keep the school straight in the student straight and stop giving them so much until they give us up. But by discipline. Just briefly, I am in favor of looking more closely
At the number of absences that we have, mainly because, you know, I’m not in favor of holding kids accountable for things that are in the adults purview. It is up to the parent to call the school and explain that their child has an excuse. But if they don’t do that, then the number
Of unexcused absences racks up and then eligibility is gone. I think after what’s today, Tuesday after Sunday, we all know who Travis Kelce is during the Super Bowl. I mean, I was only there for Usher, so I don’t I don’t really know who won, but
During the Super Bowl, Travis Kelce shared a story about him and his brother playing high school football and that he was very excited that in his sophomore year he was supposed to be the starting quarterback. But essentially lead the way for his brother, who would have been a senior in high school.
So they were supposed to be on the same team, both starting. He was very excited. He did not qualify because he had an F in French. Now I think about what if Travis Kelsey had an F in French his senior year or his junior year in high school
And was unable to play that following year? Like, would he have been scouted? Would he have been picked up? Would he have had the opportunity to go into the draft? I think it’s a draft. You know, football. I was thinking I was only there for Usher, you know,
Would he have had the opportunity to be scouted, go into the draft and get the opportunities that he now has today? So I definitely hear what Miss was saying and what Mr. Hancock Second it in terms of Miss Brenda Thomas in terms of we need to keep the standards high for all students,
But recognizing that we do have students and I appreciate that we are now sort of moving in the direction of having more than one F. So yes, you can get one, but you can’t have more than one. But recognizing we do want students to go to the higher end of academics.
We want them to push for AP classes. We want them to do what is it, AP classes and what what am I thinking about? So the college courses. Who are. Doing enrollment, thank you so much. We want them to sort of push themselves but push like to fail forward.
So in the event that you just don’t make it, it shouldn’t compromise your ability to be able to play or engage in not just only sports, but also student government model, U.N. cheerleading, a variety, other kind of extracurricular activities. Okay, Mr. Thomas, if you can make your final point
And then we should vote, I’ll make my brief comments and then we should vote on this amendment. Can I say something before? Well, Ms.. Thomas had our hand up. Thank you. Thank you. So. So I’ll be really quick. I do appreciate the fact that Mr.
Smith’s point about, you know, an athlete who went to. The. NFL, great, like that’s wonderful. But I want to ground everybody. And one thing that I think is critically important and I think. Ashley. Spoke of that when we started and your research at Columbia and some other universities.
This is about educating the whole child. And this is about giving them activities. And it’s not just if you’re going to the NCAA, it’s playing college sports, not just about if you’re going to become, you know, the next, you know, NFL player.
This also has to do with the fact that we have I’ve talked to lots of parents. I’ve talked about students participating in these activities means that the whole child can come to school and find something. And if we take those away, then we’re kind of sequestering students to just head down,
Focus on education and only your classes. And that’s the piece that I think is really important. It’s not just the classes, it’s all the other things that build schools as community, right? It’s the community because you get to interact with your peers in different ways.
So I appreciate the way this policy seems to be moving because we’re celebrating the fact that it is not everybody will not go to be a, you know, NFL player, NBA or whatever track star like some of these students will just be able to get through
A school year, build community, learn about themselves, grow, understand resilience and discipline and leadership from participating in these extracurricular activities, which is why I want us to do more to allow more students to participate, because it’s about the community of schools and what that feeds into them
And being educated and it’s just not coursework. So the whole attendance thing, you know, it’s sure the kid can’t control it all, but then that’s on us to educate parents because there’s there’s almost no reason to have an unexcused absence now. So I don’t I don’t I accept the fact
That that parents just aren’t aren’t doing what they should do because they just plain old don’t want to. I think we just need to educate them more. Kids need to be in school, number one. I mean I to to think that we would let them miss a quarter
One quarter of a quarter and still be eligible is a tough pill for me to swallow. And so I just want to make that comment. And it was you know, we seem to always come back to kids in sports and it’s much more than that as. As Mr. Mr. Thomas said, it’s
But that always seems to be the example. And you don’t make policy based on an isolated example. You make it fair for all the kids. Thanks. Thank you. I’m a I’m in agreement with that statement and I’ve been very open about my thoughts on the eligibility policy.
I’m not in favor of having, you know, unlimited absences. I don’t see how that benefits the students in the long run. I also, you know, have concerns, not including electives. You know. Of course, is of course. And ultimately, you need everything you’re taking for graduation. Some things arguably, you know,
Are maybe considered more core courses. But I wouldn’t discount anything that a student has given effort on. Also, I also have not have not had an opportunity since we did receive this evening to go through this and in great detail. But as I said initially, it is a substantive change that for me
Would need a lot more detail. And also as far as a specialized education community, they’re already protected. Ms.. Cramer and I had a conversation with mishap on how that particular population already has certain protections, and ultimately many things are a case by case basis anyway, as far as attendance.
So I don’t want to start with maximum allowed attention. You just an open policy because then where do we go from here? And I completely understand people’s angst around the one failing grade because the concern is, okay, then do we then because we’ve already revisited very recently,
As you know, my two colleagues here, no. And already changed it. And so people’s concern is that are we going to come back the next year and go from one after two less? For me, this is the maximum I’d be willing to support.
I just want to go on record as saying that one failing grade would be it. So With that said, we need to. Did you want to add something? Yeah, I just wanted to. Just four procedures. So there was a motion that was seconded, a discussion. And then we’re ending discussion.
So we’re now going to vote on Ms.. Butler Washington’s amendment, and then revisit. The. Proposed policy. Right? Exactly. Yes. So just to clarify, Ms.. Butler, Washington’s proposed changes that we received this evening, that’s what’s currently on the floor and then the superintendent’s recommendation is what was posted to board docs.
And then we’ve had quite a bit of discussion. So just to it straight, no problem. No problem. So I’m voting on Ms.. Butler. Washington’s proposed amendment. All in favor. Place your hand. Okay. All right. And a post. All right. The motion fails. Okay, so then, circling back to the superintendents. Proposed eligibility requirements.
Is there motion to accept? All right. Yes, to accept. As presented. okay. Ms.. Kramer, Moving to accept the superintendent’s proposed eligibility policy. Is there a second? I’ll second. Okay. Mr. Lucas, is there any discussion, Ms.. WARREN. And then. Ms.. Kramer. Yes. So when does this so when do we discuss,
Like I recommended or suggested, a attendance review board? Where does that come into the conversation? Why that did you want to go ahead? So what I would suggest to the board and you mentioned also the grading policy, and I think all the policies affect each other. Right. And in some ways,
The grading policy is on its way to come back to the board. Either way, whatever the grading policy is today, or if the board changes it tomorrow or if the state changes it, wink, wink information that’s coming then that will equally effect every every board in the state’s eligibility policy.
If there’s an interest to do an attendance, are looking at chronic absenteeism, which is an area that I do want to come back to the board and do a full presentation. I would then want to do a full I would recommend that we talk about chronic absenteeism,
Which this district as well as nationally has had has been struggling. We’ve come up every year, but we still have more to do. It could be it could come forward as a future agenda item with some recommendations. I want to make sure that the board here’s
What are we doing, What are we planning on doing? How are we improving? And then the board can weigh in on some recommendations that may include. Ms. Wong What you’re talking about. Okay. Okay. So we could discuss this and then we could if there’s interest in directing the superintendent
To do a presentation and chronic absenteeism, we circle back to that, after which. I will tell you right now it is on my agenda to move forward, whether I get it in this year’s agenda because we’re a little tight or next year, it is going to be something that
Because we’re working quietly through it. But it is an issue. Okay. But I just have one thing today. Yes. Yes. So there is I mean, I hear you talking about the attendance review board, but it sounds like you’re talking about a board specifically for extracurricular and athletics to review the
Of those students involved. And I guess. All know, I mean, across the. Board. Okay. So so that I’m glad to hear that because we do have attendance conferences and attendance hearings for our students who are chronically absent. We already have that across the board in the school system for for who are absent.
I mean, there’s a five day letter, a ten day letter that the parents get notified. And the news. Conferences as contracts that are written, there are conferences that are held at the superintendent at the Starkey Building, and then they are attendance hearings. So. So and then, you know,
From those hearings, it can even be referred to the the state’s attorney’s office for truancy. I mean so so there are some things in place that that resemble perhaps an attendance review board. It’s a group of individuals that sit in between my office
And the student services office, and they do hear these cases. They bring these families in when there are these chronic attendance issues. So, so something we may not call it that, but in general, it’s just not this sort of specific to sports. You know, I appreciate that. I did read the attendance policy,
So I saw the one to do with the process. So I think it would be helpful for me and maybe the board member or maybe not or the public to discuss their process, because it might be I did. I read it and I saw that, you know,
There is a PWI the part of that letters. I read that. But I think, you know, I was just trying to, you know, understand that process. Is it, you know, where we can get to the root cause and, you know, there are some we see results, actual results from that, you know, like
So that it. Sounds like that’s something that Navarro would like to bring forward. So that will address concern on this one. Okay. We need to land the plane, ladies. Ms.. Smith and then Ms.. Thomas for final comments, and then we’ll vote. I’m ready to land. Okay. Two questions.
Can you explain once again for the public, because this is by quarter. So we talk about six days of unexcused absences, six days out of how many days the quarter. So they’re only average, about 44 or 45 days per quarter. Okay. So it is six days prior to this.
Right now, the current language is four and a half days that they are permitted to be absent without a no unlawful absence. And then there are the five parent notes that students are permitted that are considered lawful. The students can, you know, have, but it not affect their eligibility. Okay.
Just quickly, second question is the last question I have just to near couple landed. I see that the language is proposed to change from grade point average to performance. Is that inclusive of like a seri like a body of work or like you scroll down. Dr. Jones The language toward the bottom. Yeah.
What exactly do you mean by performance versus grade point average? Because I in bullet number one, right where it starts out with performance. And I think those are students who are coming and we’re not counting the eligibility coming in from the eight to the ninth grade, first time ninth graders.
And so so we’re not looking at their they’re coming in automatically. Eligible. In ninth grade so we took out GPA says that’s not applicable to those students and that’s a major sort of read back through it here. So for the winner extracurricular for I’m looking at bullet number two.
That’s the same group of students. It’s the same group of students right. Exactly. And so we now three three. So right so so second quarter performance. So here I think there was a timing thing here with the third spring sports starts when May March 1st. Right. Right.
And can I just say that I think when we were looking at performance because we don’t have an eligibility is only based on GPA, it’s attendance, it’s GPA. So we wanted to use the inclusive word of the total performance outline on top of the eligibility requirements.
The problem is if we kept the word GPA, even though we meant all aspects of whatever is is is part of the eligibility people would say, well, it’s just based on the eligibility. Gotcha. Okay. So it’s just a more inclusive awarding based on multiple the total picture. Gotcha. Okay. Thank you.
That’s it for me. Thank you. Did you have anything else, Dr. Jones? Thank you. Ms.. So I did have one question on. So and. Bullet number four, it says, except for students promoted the failing grades, she is she he or she is ineligible for the remainder of the season
For post play in the following quarter. But that’s a to me a bit contradictory to number six, which says if a student may gain a season eligibility at the quarter interim mark, then they can. That’s a bit contradictory. So if you if you if you don’t meet the requirements, I’m
Not because there’s several it’s the attendance and the GPA and then no F then number six is contradictory. Am I reading that wrong or does everybody kind of agree with that? There’s a little bit of contradiction there. So if you can regain eligibility, which was a big thing, right?
We wanted to give students some grades in ability, then we those are in conflict, which is a struggle for me, which I mean, we’re going to have to decide or tweak it or there’s some work that needs to be done on that. The way I read it
Is the more than one F, if I’m understanding it correctly. So if they have just the one F, then they’re okay. It’s the more than so if they get two F’s but at the inner mark so students may gain season eligibility of the quarter end remark pending great performance at that time.
So let’s say you got to ask, but you bought both your ass up to C’s at the interim. Do you regain your eligibility again or no? So that comes down to actual timing. So when you were making them ineligible. You’re going to have to wait four and a half weeks.
You have to wait four and a half weeks until that next term comes up. The season will be okay. Well, I ask that question because we do have sports like swimming. Don’t want me to swimming because I’m not a swim person. But but we do have some that bridge multiple to track
If you’ve indoor outdoor track if you have basketball season. There are some that will bridge two semesters but also bridge a semester in an interim. Right. And so I just want to clarity on how that would work out. So my understanding from the last conversation
The board had was a student who is eligible and may or is ineligible and wants to be relooked at the interim, right? That’s what you’re talking about. Ms.. Thomas Okay. The question of who is ineligible would have to, by default, mean that at a minimum they have at least
More than two F’s, or they could be ineligible for a bunch of different reasons. They could actually be straight A’s and not meet the attendance requirements. So I think what the language is trying to say here, and this is probably why they’re bullied their numbers that way, because number six ends the
And the process by saying a student may be re locked in the interim, whatever we’re calling may regain seasoned eligibility at the quarter interim mark. Now, whether that aligns with certain sports or other extracurricular activities, you know, that’s just going to be the schedule that those are following.
So it may or may not work for some students. It’s not going to be perfect, but it at least gives a vehicle for some of these to be relooked. And I think that’s the sequencing of of number six. So I I’m sorry. So might I say, maybe we strike out
He or she is ineligible for the remainder of the season because that’s not necessarily true. There and you know, this season may span a quarter, semester, etc.. So it doesn’t mean they’re completely ineligible if they can become re eligible. You know, I mean, I just I just feel like
We need to tweak the language a little bit because we’re talking about high school kids. Right. It needs to be very clear. Right. What do I have to do to and I think it’s a little conflicting. So that’s just my thought was I thought perhaps if we insert without a substantive change,
Perhaps if we insert the word is insert the word potentially ineligible, maybe that could capture because it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re automatically ineligible. And two, I know the superintendent will have to then have a corresponding rule that perhaps can flesh out, you know, some of these these little. Yeah. Yeah. Right.
Depending on what the activity is. When we talk about when we’ve met and talked about number six. A large part of our conversation was around the there. Can be. Extracurricular activities as opposed to the sports. And that was the other thing I thank you for. That is not just the sports.
It’s all extracurriculars. Right. They can play. Okay. Potentially. Yeah. That we just take out season. So. So process wise, you may have to. You have to vote on this and see whether or not you want to move it as is or you can’t.
And then if it doesn’t pass, then you can propose tweaks and see if that gets a second and gets passed. And this is this is an important piece around. You can also direct. You can also if this is if this is your biggest issue with the policy, you can also direct
Based on the notes at the superintendent and flush out the superintendent rules, which I’m going to have to go back and. Update. Based on whatever the board decides to strategically talk about that specific issue. Ms. Thomas Of flushing it out because really it’s in the it’s in the procedures of this calendars
And the timelines of quarters and and themes of of sports and extracurricular activities that we’re going to need to figure that piece out. But I. I hear what you’re saying. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay. You’ve misspelled Washington as one final point, and then we we should vote. Did you want to say.
No, but. Okay. All right. So we have the superintendent’s proposed eligibility policy as presented. It’s been moved and seconded. All in favor, please raise your hands. All right. And opposed. Okay. So the motion fails. So, Yes. Six votes. No, it failed. Okay.
Yeah, That’s why I said no, no, no. I said the motion fails. So, Mr. Lee, I just want to. The board may or may want to introduce additional edits to this as well and see if it passes. I do want to remind the board that we really have until
The end of this month to move something forward, to be able to be to apply for the students for next school year, because our March one begins are spring activities and extra. So we have to be looking at this for the February work session unless there’s more motions. Yeah. yeah. Mr. Lucas. Yes.
Thank you. So appreciate all the conversation. As I said before, the the attendance thing for me, it’s it’s very hard for me to accept what you propose with regard to attendance, because I think for kids, not school is not school. And that’s where that kid needs to be. I talked
To a lot of people about this. They talked to me about this with with, I’m sure, as they did with you and teacher students, aides and people from the community. And I was I was was very adamant about the no way off. But I’m willing to come off that with some provisions.
And in listening to my other board members it. I had a motion prepared. It relates to the to the existing policy because it’s easier with regard to language. But I’ll just say what’s on my mind. And if there seems to be a consensus, then then the superintendent could bring something back
At the next meeting because it wouldn’t be substantive. You know, you look at the student and you look at the totality of their work and and sure, maybe they failed a class, but in in four years of eligibility, you know, should that be be held against them?
And it’s kind of like that that one time where you’re talking at the copier at work and that’s when the big, big boss sees you. And that’s a snapshot in time of who you are. You’re a guy that sits around at the water cooler, talks, not somebody you work. So
The the only thing that that I would say about allowing one F is that it could not happen for someone in the in the spring semester of their junior year or in their senior year in a class. They need to graduate because I don’t know how I could say, yeah, well, you
You know, you failed that class in the spring of your junior year, but that’s okay. Go do this. Instead of focusing on that class that you need to graduate, you know that that that’s a hard one for me. But if it’s earlier on and again, when we talk about grading separate subjects,
If you if you take a class again in summer school, get the other one off your record. Okay. I think that’s reasonable separate conversation, but I’d be willing to come off of that if if that’s if that’s something that my fellow board members would consider.
And that way we could we could get something in place by the end of the month so that it could be implemented in the next school year. So just to clarify this, are you proposing that we keep the No more than one failing grade and remove the the six absences?
Is that your proposal that you want to keep? What I would say I’m not making a motion yet. I know what I would say if we if we think about the existing policy because that one is a little easier. With the for four and a half.
So you would modify you would modify the existing policy by removing the nowhere for requirement. Students may be eligible with no more than one failing grade if GPA requirements are met, the only exception being if it’s a required class for graduation and the student is a rising senior, which I deem
As someone who just finished 11th grade or a senior so they couldn’t have an F in a class, they needed to graduate. Not going into or into their senior year thing. Right. I think that that captures about 65% of what the superintendent is looking to get from what she proposed. I’m assuming she.
Thomas And I’d like to allow Dr. Navarre that’s the part of the board that to Jones I know Dr. Thomas Everybody’s Thomas Dr. Thomas not to Thomas everybody’s. Thomas Yeah. Back to Jones and Mr. Paoli to weigh in as well. So, Mr. Lucas, I just want to get clarity, sir,
Because so you’re adding the where you are at a point in time in your high school career as it matters with the the F so if you’re a sophomore or a freshman does not matter, but only if you’re a junior or senior. Is that your point? I just want to clarify.
If you if you need that class to graduate. Okay. And this kind of touches on Miss Butler, Washington. An elective isn’t quite the right word because you do need a certain amount of electives in order to graduate. But I understand the intent. I said the same thing a couple of months ago,
But that’s why I say if it’s a course that you need to graduate. Okay. So. So you’re taking that in the spring of your junior year and you fail. Well, how can I, in good conscious say, go spend 20 hours a week doing something else instead of focusing in
On that class that you need in order to graduate high school. So that’s why I say spring of the junior year or any time in your senior year. So. So thank you for that clarity. I think it helps me just understand where you were going.
Yeah, there’s so many variables that come into GPAs and graduation and all those things that I’m not certain how if because you can fail something when you’re a freshman and if you don’t take it again, you still can’t graduate, right? There are some courses better that way too.
So I thank you for that, for the clarity and what you are trying to achieve with that. I just needed some some clarity there. But that that means you’re still not willing to come away from days, days of attendance. I mean, there’s no way I would entertain not, you know, having unlimited days.
That’s just not I mean, there there there is a, you know, anything more let’s be clear. Anything more than four and a half days, a quarter is defined as chronic absenteeism. Okay. That’s an accepted definition. And it’s an issue it was an issue before COVID. It’s an issue on steroids after COVID.
So I can’t sit here in good faith and accept something that says a kid can be absent 11 days in a quarter and and still be able to participate. I mean, we talk about the holistic child, but but education is number one. And if they’re not in school,
You know, they’re not they’re not learning. And so, you know, I can’t I can’t accept what was proposed and the document that’s on board docs. So so then I would ask one question. We do have some very, I think, delineated clear black and white language about what the absences mean.
But I’d like to ask this question, Mr. Jones, Does that mean there’s no case by case situation? Because here it talks about the unexcused, which as to Mr. Lucas, to your point, there should be no reason why they’re unexcused. But we absolutely don’t know what’s going on
In the lives of families of every student. But then when it gets to official, right, So you can submit your documentation, but after that, you’re still limited to five, right? Is this unofficial or official? Is there what’s the number if your parent writes you 11 notes
And now they’re all excused, that doesn’t matter. Right? It’s just if they’re unexcused. Am I correct? That’s that’s correct. That that’s correct. The first five don’t count against you. The next six would start counting. So after five unexcused or excuse, it doesn’t really matter.
After when you get to day number six, you start at one used. So if so if you have a of crisis in your family and you. I don’t know something happens. I don’t I don’t want to be pejorative here but something happens and you get to day six at that point.
Now you’re no longer eligible letter or no letter from parent an excuse or excuse or that case by case. So if there was letters for the first time in the situation that you just explained, and when you get to the sixth day that start your day one towards eligibility. Okay.
So I wanted to be sure that this was your last comment. Mr. Lucas Christmas sworn had her hand up as well. So just to clarify, go ahead. So for first, I mean, we’re making a decision for for thousands of kids so we can always pull out the isolated example.
We can’t we can’t make decisions based on that for anything. I read the policy, what you just said I don’t agree with as I read this policy, the current policy says I may not have more than four and a half days unexcused absences if I’m out eight days and I got a note
That says I was sick, that’s not an unexcused absence. So that that’s you make a great point there. So we talked about this a little bit earlier. And what we think is that when we wrote this language a while back, the intent of it was that we’re really talking about those unofficial
That I’m sorry, the last next to the last bullet. If you’re looking at the document, they’re saying ninth grade that we’re only talking about the parent notes as being the unofficial notes that we would accept. But as far as documentation after the five or whatever,
What we used to do, four and a half after that, we really weren’t look at it wasn’t it was the thing you could just keep giving us a doctor’s note for every day at a quarter. It’d be excused. No, we were. You’re doing that. You’re doing that now? No, we’re not. And so
But that part of the language is not a whole lot different. So what we’re saying is that you. Okay? It’s not a situation where you can provide a doctor’s note for unlimited doctor’s notes and they all or excuse for eligibility purposes. You get up to a total of,
What are we saying, five, five and you get five unofficial or six and then five unofficial. Those are I see your point now I follow what you’re saying, but okay, I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole now, but you have to go back and look at those numbers of
Of how many kids were ineligible because of the attendance policy. Okay. It they weren’t they and they weren’t ineligible because of the number of days from what I’m hearing from you. And under the current policy, they weren’t ineligible because of the number of days. They weren’t ineligible because they had
Too many unexcused absences, i.e., they didn’t have a note explaining their absence. So I’m going to I’m not sure this even addresses what what you’re perceive or trying to fix. So I I’ll I’ll, I’ll be quiet. Yeah. Did you want to did you have a comment, Dr. Jones?
Because we had several other people that had their hands up. Because. You could see one hand and up and Miss Butler, Washington, based on some questions. You know this one you keep an eye. Can you turn the mic so you can get getting late? Yeah, I have this picture that’s from the website.
The every day counts red light, yellow, light, green light piece. And I just wanted to because I was looking at that and that kind of helped me with the attendance piece and I didn’t know if we could pull it up. It’s on the website under the on attendance page.
It was provided from the does this this attendance works that org but it’s on the ten I just typed in search and then the search it and but anyway I just kind of wanted are you saying from our website. Yeah from our website Charles County.
Yes I typed in actually absent and then I just seen a couple of things came up in attendance came up, but it’s on the attendance page and I just because I just it was just simple and plainly stated, what’s considered you know, absenteeism chronic. And then I went on that website, right.
A couple of things on the website and I just wanted to know so, so just to make it real simple, because I’m hearing all of these numbers and I’m like trying to keep up and it’s not working is 849 And but what are we talking
About here with the with the the the quarter you said four. I hear you saying four and a half days are allowed of unexcused absences. How does I just want to know how does what we’re talking about in that policy, what’s current fit in? This is here but this picture right here
Because I’m here and different numbers of days missed allowed because I’m. For the whole. For the. This is for the whole year. Okay. Okay. Well, then. Okay. All right. I just want to. Okay. All right. And if I’m not mistaken, this is how Mr. Lucas was getting to chronic absenteeism
Because of his 18 days for the year. If you break that down into quarters. Okay. Yeah. So four and a half. Okay, so that’s that. All right, We could take that down, but I thank you. So I have to put it up here because I need that one quarter. Okay.
And then the last part I just I’m just trying and I’m just not going to spend a lot of time or even really need an answer because I don’t have my question quite formulated. But one one of the questions or my thought process, whether
Do we have the power to change how grades are weighed? Do we have that authority? Do we with within the grading policy. So the weighting of courses is going to come back because we’re looking at which courses are weighted and how much. Okay. And that is and which courses gain that weight.
So yes, that’s part of the grading. Work because, well, you know, I was in the very beginning and I’m like, every class matters and it any does I still feel the same way about no kids to fill a class. I feel that. But I’m just I’m like if if the kid gets a
3.0 and they still have an F, it’s not going to change the 3.0. You know, talk like that’s where I’m kind of leaning towards now. Like it’s not going to they’ll still get into college if that’s if they so choose to pursue that, they’ll still get into a
You know and it could be just one. Yeah. Yeah. So it’s just like, okay that’s where I was talking my how the weighing of the grades that’s what. Well so the GPA is going to some it’s a summative of what the end course grade is. The difficulty is.
Well I would say the reason why so many school systems have the one F for a marking period is because you don’t know if the student is going to fail the course or if this just happens to be an F and during the marking period.
And so I think that’s why so many jurisdictions in Maryland tend to keep that one. F The attendance component is an important component that this board as a board believes strongly in. And I think that’s a local decision about keeping the attendance or at least, you know, the attendance components.
I will tell you the attendance in schools conversation when we come back and do chronic absence absenteeism is myriad. Even at the state level. When we were granted additional flexibilities for parents who write a letter for a mental health Day, and we accepted and you know, when we went through the whole
COVID piece around and we’re still saying, you know, if you’re sick, stay home. And so what constitutes that? So there is inconsistencies there. However, the reality is that we do we have chronic absenteeism issues that also have to be addressed. I think the question that the board has to figure out
Is where do they stand with with if there is some room for some options where they kind of can draw the land and the line in the sand and say these components must be there? And we believe that for most students, almost all the students, those are the correct parameters
For being eligible to participate in all these other activities. And so I’m good checking this them And then Ms.. Smith Okay. Mr. Lucas, you hit the nail on the head. What I’m what I was trying to say was the requirement for graduation. Those are the courses
That should be in this policy that they cannot fail, because if I’m going to allow them to get a FEMA one F keep going, get to their 12th grade, they can graduate. We got to look at ourself. We did it. We allowed it.
That’s what I’m trying to say, because parents do not keep up with that. They keep up with my child’s plan. They let they let him play. So he’s okay. We have to look within outside the scope. I know we want to give the kids all the opportunity,
But the world is not fair, is not? You go to work. They not giving me opportunities. I have to prove what I’m doing to be able to do my job. We’re not we’ve not preparing kids for school. We’re preparing kids for when they leave high school. If we do not do that,
We allowed you to play sports, but by the way, we didn’t prepare you for the real world. I’m looking for Charles County’s students to be able to survive at the high school because everybody’s not going to interfere. Nobody and everybody that going to NBA. Yes. Is a pledge of a right there.
But when they graduate, they’re going to look back and say, they didn’t prepare me either. I’m not going to graduate because I was allowed to get one. If we didn’t put no parameters around the one, if the one F needs to be that it cannot be any high school requirements, that’s the best.
The only piece is missing. So when you say just let them get a f, you got to think about they’re going to get in English and math, English and math. And those are the requirements that we need for them to graduate. If you do not have those parameters around it,
This pass is going to come back and haunt us, I’m telling you, because that’s what the public is telling us. It’s going to come back. You don’t we don’t have those parameters. We’re saying let them get out because they’re going to be okay because they can play sports. That is not life.
And we know that’s not right. Yeah, I understand. We yes, we have to change to where it is, but we are the adults here. These are the children future. I do not want anything on me or I don’t want anything on this boat to be that we allow kids to fail
And there is nothing we did. We didn’t protect them. It’s not. We didn’t protect them. We got to think about it. I understand what we want to do. I get it. But what I don’t understand is why we’re not ready to put parameters around. What if they can get it to.
That’s my only for that. Thank you. This quickly means Belle of Washington. I would say that that’s something that the counselor should catch because they shouldn’t be going all the way through ninth grade with something that they were required to graduate. And no one has.
You know, there hasn’t been because every time they to Miss Cramer’s point, every time that you have to select your courses, they’re reviewing what you got in the previous you know, the previous semester. So to your point that should be our failsafe. I can only speak for my one child that’s graduated out.
But every time she went to register every quarter, they’re looking at are you on track to graduate, how many remaining classes do you have, etc., etc.. So I but to my my point is that I truly appreciate clearly we need to make more progress in reading and math. Won’t argue that point,
But I don’t want to distinguish between a class that you need to graduate because arguably you need all these classes to graduate. You do need some electives, you know. So I don’t I don’t want to say, well, you know, if it’s only in reading and math, then you know what I mean?
We’re not going to hold it to the same standard as, for example, French or something else, if that makes sense to me. They’re all important. You’re right. And that’s why I say the logic, the one we voted on is out the door.
I’m saying it For us to rethink that, we need to make sure whatever the sheet says for the council, these are the classes you need to graduate electives or whatever. Those are the class. We cannot allow them to fail because at the end they will fail. But to your point, that’s
More than just math and reading, though. I know I just gave example a math and I’m okay. And look at the requirements to graduate. Okay? We look at all of those classes so they cannot be allowed to fail. Those classes that are required. Okay, That’s different than electives.
And is that what you’re saying? You just like change the language. Okay, I’m tracking with you now. Okay. Thank you, Miss Smith. I’ll be very brief on the thought of reimagining. I would like for the board to reimagine what education could be and where we currently are.
I think many of us are thinking about education from when we went to school. In my mind, I’m like, absolutely a child cannot miss any days. They must be present in the room with the educator getting all that they can get. Our children are on devices, they’re on
Laptops are educators, have class websites. Our students are, you know, conferring with educators via email. You know, I’m going to be out today. What if I missed, you know, can I see will the syllabus be posted on, you know, the class website? Like, where can I find the information?
They are finding a way of learning outside of the classroom, which is what we wanted. I mean, what we were required to do once we were in the pandemic and has not ceased. Every one of our students has a laptop. So I want us to think differently about, well, a child
Cannot be out of school for six unexcused days in the quarter and still be able to maintain a 2.0 GPA. They probably can. They absolutely can. So again, I hear the argument of and I don’t want to put words to anyone’s mouth.
When I was in school, I felt like I had to be there every day when my child was in school. Even if I don’t have children of school currently, I wanted them to be in school every day. I want my kids to be in school every day.
But I also do recognize that even though the pandemic is over, quote, quote unquote, our kids still get sick. And the recommendation is for them to remain home. And while that is an excuse absence, they still have missed three or four or five days. So but that’s not so.
They haven’t still been learning still, but engaging with the teacher is still been keeping up with what’s going on in the class because, again, they do have these devices. So we need to think differently. And your point is well taken as as you have. My child graduated out with high honors.
They’ve never had perfect attendance. Never. And candidly, that’s not that’s not our goal. You know what I mean? Because I believe children need mental health days, you know, as long as their performance as you know, is there. So that that’s just my personal opinion. Yes, that’s it. So
I think the board has talked about their positions and I think everybody sort of has their core positions of where they are. I’m not quite sure that continuing to discuss them are going to change current positions. We don’t have. I yes. So I think we don’t have a motion of anybody introducing anything.
And I do think that looking at there’s there’s right now across the board different views around attendance in this policy which just on my read would probably not allow it to move forward anyway. So I’m going to I would suggest that we pause on this.
I’m going to think about what an option is, but I do want to queue up to the board that. And then we also have the question of the F in one in one class that still continues to be a not a consensus for for
Or not a majority for the board in terms of the vote. So we I’m going to have to think through what the option is. But I also know that if I bring another option forward, there is a time frame problem that we have at this point. But I don’t think that continuing
To talk about everybody’s position is going to change everybody else’s position at this point. I do think we have some. Answers, an amendment. Census, but there is one or two. I do agree. We need to move on, though. Yeah. What was the what was the vote? I’m sorry, I didn’t see the vote.
It was myself. Ms.. Cramer and Ms.. Smith were for and everyone else was again. Okay. Yeah. All right. So, yeah, I agree with you. That’s about one thing. Like I say, I’m old school, but I know the school offers a lot of help, a lot
Of courses, a lot of teachers are willing to step in and help for these kids that need this extra time. I know absence would be case by case because, you know, some people just not in school because of certain reason, you know, case by case.
I think that’s what we need to base it on case by case. But for us, you know, five or six days and stuff, you got to base it on the reason why and determine that way case by case, not just because they don’t want to come to school.
And for us to ask failing grade, like I said, there’s so many options that the school offer to help these kids get a passing grade. And like my son senior year ago, he’s not going to pass. He would fail to do something or get his credits.
And I sit up and say, Well, what does he need to do to pass? And they told me, and I made them do it. So this opportunity is always for these kids to be able to get their grade or get a passing grade so they can graduate. There is no excuse because this
Now these days, like the cell phone, Internet tablets, they can do what they have to do to get that passing grade. So it shouldn’t be really an excuse of getting off where they can graduate. They’ll get that opportunity if they really want it. So really, it will fall back down on the kid
If they really want to graduate and the parent being there to push them to do what they have to do. That’s all I have to say. We’re going to have to yeah, we’re going to have to end the discussion. Everyone, I very much appreciate This is a spirited debate.
We literally could be here till midnight. As it stands now, the current eligibility policy will remain subject to us being able to potentially pass anything at the February work session. So I don’t envy you, Dr. Jones. Mr. Pauole You’re welcome to, you know, confer with the superintendent.
And if you’ve gleaned anything here that you think we may be in agreement on and you might bring something for us again, we would welcome that. Best of luck. So the final thing we need to. Yeah, the final thing, we need to vote on was the proposal. Mr. Head. It should. Okay.
I thought you were ready to go, you know. I know. I definitely. Yeah, know. Listen, I’m there with you, Mr. Hancock. Absolutely. It’s like I’ve reached my limit. The final thing was the public, the public private partnership language that was proposed by the the superintendent earlier this evening.
Is there a motion to accept a proposed language. That. Misspelled Washington second by Ms.. Smith? All right. Is there any discussion, sir, and ask please make it one minute if anyone has. Well. As you know, I brought something up when we were meeting earlier and and I asked and the superintendent
Provided some language change. So if only it would come up. But we’d have to vote this up or down. Mr.. If you’re proposing an amendment. Yes. And that’s what I’m. Going to be. Okay, well, let’s, let’s vote vote on this first, because the amendment procedurally should come.
No, no, no. We need to do this. Thank you. Just say. Why. But what we’re voting on is what she what the supervisor and that sheet that Navarro presented, Mr. Lucas seems like he has a little different language. And we need we need. Sorry. Yeah, we have a motion
The second on the floor on the current language. So we have to we have to push it up or down. My motion is to amend that if you, if you, you amend my motion would be to amend what the superintendent proposed. And then if the board accepts that amendment, then we would vote.
On the amendment. Then I’ll go then and then on, on. Okay. Well, let me let me hear your amendment first, sir. I don’t know why it’s not coming up on my. Computer, because then and. No. So, Eric, come up. You are here. It is because I’m sorry.
Because it came from Mr. Hyman. Dr. Navarro. So I apologize. So. Well, hold on. Point of order as we have a couple of differing opinions. My understanding is that there’s a motion on the floor. We vote that up and down, up or down before we potentially circled back.
So, Eric, I just want to go back. So there was a when this was being presented to the board. And can we pull up the superintendent’s language, please? So when this came to the board when we were coming to the ward, there was in the report item, Mr.
Lucas cued up that maybe there was something missing and requested to have something draft. So as we bring it to action item, how when is the time when he brings this forward to the board to see if that is amended? And then how does that process follow? Can you go through that?
There was a motion to approve the language that you would propose with the second. Obviously, look, it sounds like he’s going to offer an amendment to that, which is a proper motion to make at this time. With the second discussing Mr. Lucas’s change. That’s the first thing we discuss.
If the changes adopted, then it goes back to the original motion with with that change and that change can be adopted tonight. It does not have it does not refer back to the report on it and it can be taken as an action item tonight with any changes that we propose. Okay.
So you’re saying his because there’s a motion already on the floor. So you’re saying his amendment can be voted on prior to the motion that’s on the floor? Correct. You make the amendment to the motion. You vote on the amendment to the motion, and then you go back to the original motion,
With or without that amendment, depending on whether the mandate was adopted. All right. So, Mr. Lucas, you have to present your motion. Correct. So so I motion that we amend the superintendent’s recommendation with the following after about two thirds down, after where it says funding source, add the words.
And this came directly from from Mr. Heim. Nor can our annual funding allocated through the Interagency Commission on Public School Construction with our Capital Improvements program, be identified as a funding source. And so this, as I mentioned earlier, this would protect us from having to spend all of our IP doing
Just a P3 effort that we would preserve our IP for the things that we’ve had in Q to do for a number of years. So can we see that proposed language? Is there a way do we have this in another version where we could. Say it on your email? You have. An email.
Word or something where we can just. Yep, that’s fair. Just to put clarifying question on this, if I’m brings that up back in the world, we got some discussion. Seems pretty straightforward. Typically the language would come through you. It’s that change that you would support. Yes. So yeah. So the concern that Mr.
Lucas raised, I think it’s valid enough that we protect we just we’re very clear to protect the language of the IP because we were very clear to our to talk about our operating budget. But he made a good point. It could also come after our CFP.
And so we want to make sure that it is tight. So I asked to insert the language, the language. I just want to be sure that you are in support of it. Clyde Yeah, we maybe type it directly there. All right. I know you spoke no transcriptionist. We should have had it ready.
Just a friendly reminder to my folks. We should have had a ready. You should have a physical copy of it. Yeah. So apologies to make you wait. My whole family think I’m kidnaped. Excuse to get back in your house. Or I will write notes for everybody to get back at.
Holy smokes. yeah. We’ve opened the chocolate. You’ve come to that portion of the evening? Yes. Left here. I left it here. You’re welcome to share mine this to. All right. And imagine if we hadn’t been able to give them a good. I don’t get any more. Thank you, though. I don’t want you.
To give it to the all I. Showed to the board. After that. I’ll tell you. Yes. We do want to see this. So it’s like this. I You all should have this in your inbox, by the way, if you want. To say anything but caramel. Anything with caramel. you can have it here.
All right. So. So, Mr. Luke has just emailed it to the board. Okay. The board can see it directly, since we’re unable to pull it up. Okay. And has it up? Yeah. It’s going to be hard for you to see. Okay. Yeah. Easier.
It’s probably easier just to view it in your email. Yeah. And that the language is highlighted, Correct. Is everyone able to view it? Yes. Okay. Everyone see it in an email? Yes. Yes. Miss Thomas has one side here. Both Ms.. Thomas’s name and. Okay, so this is language the superintendent supports.
Yeah, I’m okay with that. And I would second that motion. Is that. That’s the motion. Okay. All right. Yes. Thank you. Yes. So again, we’re voting on the motion is currently on the floor One second, which is the proposed language by Mr. Lucas, which inserts the. So the new sentence would read.
CCP staff supports our local delegation proposing legislation at the state level to identify a funding source for future P3 projects. Knowing our operating budget cannot be identified as a funding source. Adding the language along with our annual funding allocated through the IAC parentheses Interagency Commission on Public School Construction
With our Capital Improvements Program so that is the addition. Okay, so it’s been moved to second it. Is there any brief discussion? Okay. All in favor. Okay. That is unanimous. Thank you. Now back to the original original motion, which will now include this language. Everyone clear? Yes. All right.
Is there motion to accept the. There’s a motion already on the table. Okay. Ms.. Thomas, Second by Ms.. Brenda Thomas. Okay. Motion has already been made. Okay, So. All right, all in favor. All right. Unanimous. Thank you. Ms.. Brenda Thomas. Is there a second? Second by Ms.. Smith. All in favor? Thank you.
We are adjourned at 912. It’s good enough to put it for breakfast. That. Can you take us?