Okay. Good afternoon. I call to order this June 9th, 2026 Loudoun County School Board meeting. I have been informed that Mr. Svendsen would like to participate remotely. Let's see. Mr. Svendsen, please state your location and whether this is a medical or personal matter. I'm at a hotel, and this is a personal matter. Is there anyone present with you at this location? And if so, please state their names. There is not. Thank you. Mr. Svendsen has made a request to participate remotely. I will now entertain a motion. I move that Mr. Svendsen be allowed to participate in tonight's school board
meeting remotely. Second. Thank you. It has been properly moved by Mr. Pepper and seconded by Ms. Labelle. Is there any discussion?No? All right. Board members, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all seven school board members present. Welcome to the meeting, Mr. Svendsen. Thank you. Thank you. With that, we'll move on to our disclosures, and I will start. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the
item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school
board for five years. Ms. Chernov? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public
interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public record of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance or related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the
statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public's interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Labelle? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees.
Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. In addition, as a former LCPS employee, I, as well as my spouse, receive Medicare Advantage insurance benefits through LCPS. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which my spouse and I are included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest.
This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Ms. Ricardi? Thank you, Madam Chair. As the member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and/or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the
statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly, objectively, and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. We'll move on to item number three, approval of the consent agenda. Board members, are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? All right, seeing none, I'll now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. So moved. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. We have a motion by Ms. Chernov to approve the consent agenda. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Pepper.
It has been properly moved and seconded to approve the consent agenda. At this time, we'll move forward to vote on the consent agenda. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. All right. With that, we will move on to our item number four, a work session. Tonight, we'll hear from the Department of Support Services on the fiscal year 2028 to fiscal year
2033 capital budget, which will be presented by Mr. Kevin Lewis, our chief operations officer. Thank you, Chair Chandler, members of the board. As you can see, I have a great team here with me tonight. So Mr. Trainer, Mrs. Tate, and Mr. Pascarelli will help us with the presentation. I will start by saying that we learned a long time ago that CIP is a year-round process. And so we're starting earlier this year than we ever have before with this work session. And our goals are to try to get some more information input, but also give you a status of the 2027 to '33 CIP, the projects we've worked on
there, where those projects stand. They also relate to the priorities that the board gave us prior to three of you being on the board, but we've been working on that list of projects for a couple of years now. We'll also have a preview of the projects that are listed in FY28. And I will say that a spotlight for me, in the middle of the presentation you'll see Dr. Spence has challenged us to get more and more input from students and staff. And you're going to see a couple of the ways we've been doing that, going out into the schools. And Melissa Teller, our assistant director of design and construction, is with
us in the back. She's been going out and holding these meetings along with others from her staff, and you'll see what a fantastic process that's been to get in that room with students and hear from them. Then we also want to review the priorities with you all and see if there's any opportunity for you to share with us anything you may want to add to our consideration. And you'll see that we're trying to get as much information as we can by the time you all take your summer break, so that over the summer the team can be assembling the FY28 to '33 CIP and be ready for the discussions in the fall. So at this point, I will turn to Mrs.
Tate, who I believe is going to take us through the next part of the presentation. Good afternoon. Success. As Mr. Lewis mentioned, we're going to highlight a couple key topics here tonight, the calendar, some key considerations for the upcoming fiscal budget, review the proposed capital budget projects, and go through some next steps. And I'm just the intro to the gentleman on either side of me who will go through all of the dirty work. Last month, you as a board adopted a calendar for the capital budget, the FY28 through FY33 budget. Today, we are here as a work session. We will return to you in September with additional
information. Based on the calendar that was adopted last month, October 27th will be the evening that the superintendent's recommended FY28 through '33 capital budget will be presented. We will have a couple work sessions and a public hearing during November with anticipated adoption of the capital budget document in December on the 15th. Couldn't go a meeting without talking attendance zones. Based on revisions that were adopted last year, there were revisions made where the school board has
identified that all school attendance zones will be comprehensively reviewed every five years. This tracking chart, which I think was presented at your retreat a year ago this time, outlines where we will be this current school year, where we adopted changes to the Ashford and Dallas North elementary zones. But this coming school year, we'll be looking first at the Eastern Loudoun Elementary School attendance boundaries. And then this time next spring, we will be hopefully wrapping up a countywide review of all secondary zones.
And then we will anticipate additional elementary attendance zone reviews for other planning districts within the county over the next couple of years. And with that, I'm going to pass it over to Mr. Pascarelli. I will note that some of his slides will mention that it references the capital budget document. So if you all need additional copies, we have them. Thank you, Ms. Tate. So the key consideration is the first place we'd like to start is the status of the school board priority project. So the priorities that were presented to us by the school board, we like to review every year and validate those are still our
priorities. I'm going to do a quick run-through of the status of each of these. So the independent living labs, these are all things that were identified as priorities. We have four high school locations that will be completed this summer for next summer. A little more detail will come in slides. Recovery school was opened at the North Star in 2025. Renovation replacement program, we'll talk about that a little bit as we talk about school modernization. Visual and performing arts, that work is underway. Same thing with the CTE renovations. Design work is underway for those. The View Transition Academy design underway, projected to
open in the fall of 2028. Playgrounds replacements. We have a lot of playground replacements happening right now. We'll show that list when we get to that slide. Restroom conversions were identified. We had a pilot program completed in the spring of '25, and we have funding programmed in 2028 for the next group of schools. Building and site renewals, as well as special programs, those are all part of our school modernization strategy as well. So this is just a reminder of our strategy with school modernization. So I think one of the key takeaways here is that when we think about school modernization, we think about not only just renovations to our schools, but we
think about new programs that are being added. We think about maintaining our existing systems and those kinds of things. So those are the kinds of things that we need to make sure that we're looking at all these initiatives and bringing them together to create efficiencies in our project planning to best utilize our capital as well. So all of these things are in some way, shape, or form in our current planning. So the capital budget survey. So this is a survey. Each year we go out to students, staff, and community to get their feedback on
what's important to them. This year we went out with a real simple question for them, was what needs improvement? What do you like in our schools, essentially?So I won't go through a lot of detail on this, but I'm going to flip through these slides. There's quite a few of them. You can see here this is the reaction with classrooms. And for those of you who can't see that too well, students are in blue, staff is in orange, and families are in red. So those are the percentages of those particular groups who indicated that those areas within
classrooms needed improvement. So you can see a bit of a variety of responses there. Instructional support spaces, same kind of thing. It's interesting if you look at the feedback that we have relative from students as well as staff. Sometimes they do vary. Improvements needed in the campus. Some things that aren't surprising, traffic circulation, shade features, that kind of thing. Athletic and recreation facilities, some things to note here. Environmental quality, these are things like indoor air quality,
natural light, outdoor lighting, that kind of thing. Support infrastructure. So that's just one way that we get feedback from our communities. As Mr. Lewis mentioned when he opened this up, we also engage our community, our students, and our staff through the design process that we have for each project. So Ms. Melissa Tello, who's our Assistant Director of Design, leads these meetings in the design process. And she held these meetings at Waterford with students. And the first few meetings were around understanding, getting their feedback
on what the school needed as part of the renovation and the addition. And we were pretty amazed with the feedback that we got from the students. I know Ms. LaBelle, we thank you for your partnership and attendance at those meetings as well. The other interesting thing about Waterford that I'll mention is in addition to that exercise, there was an exercise that was done for the outdoor learning space. And we thank Ms. Chernoff for participating in that exercise. And that was really a lot of fun. So the students were broken into teams, and these teams all came with their ideas
of concepts on how to best utilize this outdoor learning space. So what was amazing is the students started off with some hand sketches, and they presented their ideas, and then they took them to a next step. Some of the students actually created models using Minecraft, that game Minecraft, which was pretty cool, and they presented those. And then finally, they created scaled 3D models of their ideas. So it was just a great experience, and we learned a lot from the students, and potentially we inspired a future architect or engineer maybe within that group.
But really proud of the work that was done by our design team to make that happen. The same thing with The View Transition Academy. Students were brought in to review their feelings on the programs, the pathways that are being created in that program. Broad Run Visual Performing Arts has actually been four different student listening sessions for that to get feedback from the theater students and the art students, and that kind of thing. Another item I wanted to share with you that's going to inform our process going forward is a working group, Building Capacity and Space Utilization.
So this is what I call an app that was created by Ms. Tate's Planning and GIS team. So one of the challenges that we've had historically as we approach projects is really understanding how each space in every one of our schools is used. And it's been pretty much a manual process that Ms. Tate's team has undertaken. But this year they're launching this app, and this is for internal use. And what this allows us to do is understand what classes are taking place in every space in the school, how every space is being used within the school during a
particular block, during a particular period. So we really understand at this point, when we start to do renovation, probably get into our renovation work, we start doing that planning, we're going to really know in fine detail what spaces are being used for what and able to now use that real-time data, which is going to be updated every year. So I'm pretty excited about this tool that we have here. So this list here represents what's in the FY 2027 to FY 2032 capital budget book for all the projects that are scheduled to receive funding in 2028. So you'll see the list of projects here on the right, and then the dollar values
associated with each of those. So we're going to go through each of those with a little bit of detail in terms of what's entailed with each of those projects. And this is essentially what we're looking for feedback and approval on is these particular initiatives for FY28. So the first one is Career, Technical, and Adult Education. What you'll see with many of these projects is these are multi-year projects. So many of these we already have started work, and we'll talk about what is to come with that particular work. So with the CTE work, we've done some pre-design work. Through the course of this year, FY27, we
are working on our four older middle schools, the FACS kitchens. We're going to work on renovations to those particular spaces, the FACS spaces, including sewing, as well as a FACS and a culinary kitchen at Loudoun County High School. So that's started in design as well. This year in construction, we're supporting the implementation of HAMSIG at Briar Woods and Tuscarora. That will happen this summer. And then come next summer, the construction of these FACS projects would begin. So that's a snapshot of where we're at with CTE projects. Visual and performing artsWe've started some programming
work, and what that means is really just getting with the leadership in those particular areas, getting with the schools and understanding what this program needs. So there's been a lot of that feedback, and as I mentioned, there's been student listening sessions, most recently at Stone Bridge yesterday, where our design team has heard from the students. We'll be engaging staff next week in a staff listening session, and we're going to continue to develop that program. And starting in July, the design work will begin for four of those schools. And the plan going forward is we will then, in FY28,
start construction for those schools as well. So that's what's happening with visual and performing arts. Independent living labs. So we have completed the design for eight of these locations, eight high schools. This summer, we are going to build them at Dominion, Rock Ridge, Stone Bridge, and Woodgrove. Next summer, Broad Run, Champ, Potomac Falls, and Tuscarora. So that's what's happening with independent living labs. And then high school athletics. These are projects that are in process. You can see here some of these projects are starting in '27, some in '28, and some in '29. As you can see, we have multiple projects at the same school.
So one of the things that we do is we look for efficiencies in terms of how we are planning these projects, how we'll execute these projects. So we get maybe combine the tennis court lighting and the practice field projects together. In that way, we can reduce schedule as well as maximize the use of our capital. Classroom additions. So in 2028, we have a nine-classroom addition. We have construction funding for Eagle Ridge. That's in the CIP now. We have design funding to start a nine-classroom addition at Farmwell Station. So for FY28 school buses, there'll be 30 new
replacement diesel buses, and there will be 30 new propane buses purchased this year. In addition to school buses, we also have an initiative for a school bus washing station that would be located at the transportation building. This one may be delayed a little bit because it's contingent upon a project that we're doing at the joint central loud in storage facility. So that's in our '28 budget currently. I mentioned playgrounds, so here are all the playgrounds that we're doing. So you can see the ones that were done in FY26. We have another busy year in FY27, and here's what we will do in
FY28. So we can't forget about infrastructure improvements. So these are in our CIP as well. Things like replacing the furniture on a lifecycle replacement. School nutrition equipment as needed, replacing the pieces of equipment that need replaced in our kitchens. Technical security, keeping our security systems up to date and working well. And then lastly, the unified communication system. This is a DDI-led project. It's a modern replacement of school intercom, public address, paging clocks, bells, and telephone systems. So really, a new, modern, consolidated communication
system for our school. And that project, at last check, was about 70% complete across the district. Support spaces. So we have a lot of projects that are being considered for the use of this capital, one of which is the relocation of the Roby School, the Round Hill Center. The SOC is something that's on the list for potential relocation and upgrades. Valley Service Center, Western Support Center updates, as well as finishing the admin building. So these are in no particular priority order, but we are going to put together a
plan and present that to you at the next work session. Restroom privacy and safety. So we have completed the pilot at Dominion Heritage and Woodgrove about a little bit more than a year ago. And these are privacy restrooms that were created. And what we have in FY27, we have funding to proceed with Stonebridge, and we have funding in '28 to proceed with Briarwoods, Freedom, and Tuscarora. So a couple of things about this. These are the photos from one of the high schools that we've executed. And I will mention that we've received feedback from all three of these principals
and really positive feedback on how the students are using these privacy restrooms, how it's helped them with regards to security and privacy for the students and that kind of thing. And there's a link here at the bottom that I'd welcome you to go take a look at. And when we first started this initiative, we received some communication from the St. Paul, Minnesota public schools. And there's a great video here which really shows how they've executed a program very similar to what we're doing. So I'd encourage you to take a look at that link and see what they're doing there.
It's a great video with a lot of commentary in it that I think you'd enjoy. Outdoor learning spaces. So in FY28, we're going to pilot some construction this year. Ms. Clark Sipe is working on research and evaluating and do some initial programming for some outdoor learning spaces, which we're all excited about. And with that, I will hand it over to Mr. Trainer. Okay. And so next up is the CAP program, the Capital Asset Preservation program. And just as a reminder, this is part of our capital budget, but it is a separately funded program through the county of Loudoun.
This program is designed to maintain our schools in their current condition, per se. It addresses lifecycle replacement of different components within the school. You see the extensive list there. The picture is of an air-cooled chiller going in at one of our elementary schools. So it's replacing chillers, replacing elevators, replacing roofs on the schools, large components of the school that keep the school operational through the entire lifecycle we've got the school. It does not address renovations within the school. It does not address any modifications, changes to the instructional
environment. But it does keep our schools in good working condition on that side.And then, so the next project up, this, as many of you are aware, the VIEW, the Vocational Independence Employment and Work Readiness Transition Academy, is a new project coming up that we have started design on. We're very excited about this, as I know that both the school board and the board of supervisors have expressed a lot of interest in this. We're very appreciative that the board of supervisors purchased a building for us. And so as we are finished the initial programming for this building,
and what we have found through the initial programming phase is that the existing building that was purchased needs a lot of renovation to support this program. Plus, we're going to be doing an addition on this building that effectively doubles the size of the facility to meet all of the instructional needs that are there. So we are anticipating that the funding that we received in FY27 for this project, the construction of this, will not meet the current requirement. And we will be coming back to the school board later this fall once we've been able to complete the design and have been able to come up with a very
good construction estimate of what the cost will be. We are anticipating putting this project out for bid and with construction starting first of the year, so early January, February 2027 timeframe. And then with the school opening in the fall of 2028. So lots of exciting news with that coming forward. And then finally, you saw this slide earlier. This is just a reminder of what our starting position for the FY28 capital budget, the 28 to 2033 capital budget. And
on this list, it's all of the projects that we currently are planning to work in FY28. So this is tentatively what we'll be bringing back to you as part of the FY28 for funding this year. The list does fully utilize all of the funding that we expect to be available from the board of supervisors. So at this time, any additional projects, any additional priorities from the board, we would be looking at having to delay or remove something that's already on this list. So we don't anticipate additional funding, so anything coming into this priority
list, we'd have to set something aside. And so historically, new priorities into the capital budget for both the school board and the board of supervisors start out in year six, which for us would be 2033 this year, and then they move forward year by year until they get to the first year of funding. Which, once again, you will be voting on 2028 later this fall. And so it's very important for us, the staff, we will be working all summer through the recess trying to get this capital budget prepared to come back to you in September with another work session.
And so we would really like to hear from you before you go on recess at the end of the month about any ideas, any questions you've got, suggestions, and any concerns that you may have with this existing program so that we can come back prepared in September to be able to present good detailed information for you. And then finally, this is the last slide. The team is available for questions. We also have Dr. Blakelock from the Razzy team sitting in the back of the room ready to address any questions that may come up on the survey side. So, and we'll open it up. Well, thank you so much for the presentation.
It's lovely to reflect on the work that we've done together over the past two and a half years and to see all of these really wonderful things that are coming down the pipe. I know I'm personally so enthusiastic and grateful for the work that's been done on updating the playgrounds and for the Transition Academy. I know my community's going to be happy to see the updates that are coming for our Algonkian schools. This is really meaningful. And with that, I'll ask anyone have any questions or comments? Mrs. Griffiths.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to thank you for the presentation. My understanding in particular with Broad Run High School, I'm not sure if it was you, Mr. Pascarelli, but somebody in architecture was there too. Can you give me a little information to get a feel of what they can do to help expand or renovate the theater? If you don't mind, just give me a little information on that. Yeah. So Broad Run is on the list of priority projects for the Visual and Performing Arts project. So what's probably been done there is what I mentioned, is that programming piece of it, and also the student listening session.
So it would be understanding the needs of that particular program, so listening to the staff, listening to the students. And so the phase that we're in now is really taking that information in and developing a program. So what I mean by that is we have a program currently for if we built a new school tomorrow, we have a program for that. That program is now evolving through these conversations, through this feedback, through this process. So that's the work that would have happened at Broad Run so far. And going into FY27, into the coming fiscal year, we will actually start putting pen to paper and doing design work.
So we will start looking at how we implement these ideas. This programming that was done, how does that now turn into actual changes to the school? And so once that concept is created, we will then go back to the school and share that information again with students, staff, and possibly community members as well, and say, "Here's what we heard, and now here's what we're going to do." So will there be work done this summer? No. The only work that we've done this summer is design work. Oh, I understood that you guys were going to start working on it. That was my understanding, so I'm a little confused.
We can talk about it offline. Sure. Thank you Mr. Carty. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you guys so much for this presentation. I just had a quick question about the independent living spaces, which I find fascinating, and I'm really excited about. Are they going into all of the schools, some of the schools? And if it's just some, how did we decide which schools they were in? Just out of curiosity. Thanks. They will eventually be in all secondary schools. So we're starting with high schools, and we'll proceed from there. Great. Thank you so much. Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you guys so much. I love that we're-- Earlier is always better, I think. So I'm glad that we're here at the table having these conversations.
It feels like we just wrapped up in December on getting things going, so it's exciting to be thinking about more things again. I echo what Ms. Chandler said, there are amazing, just incredible projects happening, and I feel like the board's fingerprints are all over these plans. And especially, I audibly cheered when you went to the playground slide. So I think it's just the partnership has been so powerful, and your willingness to meet us and what we prioritize and listen and find a way, it is very
appreciated, and I know that that's not always easy. So I'm really grateful for a lot that I'm seeing. I'm especially grateful for the shift to the school modernization plan. I think the strategy, I think it makes things much clearer, streamlined, fiscally responsible, all the things. So I know the work that your team did over the last year to get us to that place and the school profiles and all of those things will serve us well for years to come. And so I appreciate your work on that. I'm especially excited about the Scout program. Is it a program? What's it called? Software? I don't know.
An app. As that, I think, will help to find further efficiencies, and as we do think about rezoning, and yes, I did say it again, Ms. Tate, that we are really maximizing our spaces and that we're being smart and informed in our decision-making. And I actually heard from a board member in a neighboring district who was like, "We heard about this thing. We want to get our hands on it." So I hear that word is spreading about the good work that you're doing, which I also love. And I thank you very much for inviting us into the work with the students, because that has been so exciting to see how excited they are
to engage, particularly at Waterford with the computer program and then the live. It's just really amazing. And my question, I guess, that I'm leading to is, Mr. Trainer, you said that if we have other priorities, that that list at the end there is some things will get bumped. My question is, if we wanted to accelerate how fast we could do some of those things, would that also probably bump other projects? At this time, we are not expecting additional funding other than what's already projected from the county.
Okay. So given that the funding is staying where the county has already projected it for us, to accelerate a project would require either slowing something down or delaying something that's already on the list. I appreciate that. The reason I ask is, I have heard from principals, particularly at Heritage, about the success and the use of the bathrooms and the private spaces that offer privacy and safety for all students for varied
reasons. And I am very anxious to see that come to fruition for all of our schools. I think it's a little bit of an equity issue. I want to make sure that all students have that privacy and safety option. And so I will be thinking about that. So I may be asking some more specific questions as we get to our next work session about what that might look like. And I think the plan is eventually to do middle schools as well. Is that correct? Okay. So just scope and sequence of all of that will be something that will definitely be a priority for me going forward.
And then did you want to say something? Yeah, I'll just say, and thank you for bringing that up. It's an excellent example of what we're looking for. And so, any budget's going to have restrictions and things we have to work through, but we need to hear what's on your mind and what you want to think and give us a chance to try to work through what may be a possible solution, how we can find a way to meet your expectations. So don't any of you hold back on what you're thinking. We want to hear all the ideas, and then we can work through those and try to find ways to get as close as we possibly can. Yeah. Madam Chair, if I may, one more?
Okay. Thank you. And I am just going to take a quick moment of personal privilege. I'm going to miss the last board meeting where I'm sure our esteemed colleague, Mr. Lewis, will be honored, but I just wanted to thank you for your 26 years of service to this county. You lead with selflessness, care, and integrity, and the dedication that you have brought to this work every day has changed me. I know it has changed many in this room. And I think the most important thing that is my takeaway is that you've never lost sight of what matters most, and that's the students of Loudoun County. And so you are a treasure and a gift, and you will be missed.
And I am sad that this is the last time that you and I will sit on a mic and talk about the capital budget. So thank you. And I appreciate that. It's been a pleasure for me and an honor all these years. And so working with boards and many of you and ones before you, it's been a great pleasure for me, so I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't know how I'm supposed to follow that. But I get another meeting and some more time with Mr. Lewis, so it's all good. And I do appreciate everything you guys do, and this presentation is awesome. And I nerd out on school construction, living in the world of schools, so this is really cool.
I'm excited for things like the Scout app. And I also will echo what Ms. Chernov said about expediating the bathrooms. We have them where I work, and they work... wonderfully and provide a sense of privacy for students and teachers, and they're extraordinarily popular. I would say they're probably much more popular than the traditional gender-separated bathrooms that we have, so I like that. One of the things I was looking at, and I know that because you had mentioned that the budget's the budget and we've got to look for savings in there. I went up to the school bus page, and I noticed that we're splitting our buses between 30 diesel and 30 propane.
But when I look at it, not only do the diesel buses have a higher capacity, 84 versus 77 students, they also are about $12,000 cheaper now. My question is, do we lose some of that cost savings with the cost of diesel versus the cost of propane going forward, that it's not a significant shift into more diesel to look at it? Because when I look at that $12,000 difference times 30 buses, that's an extra $360,000 that we could play with. Certainly, we would look for direction from the board on that. This is following the program we presented to the board, I don't know, a couple of
months ago with the transportation update. From a overall perspective, we believe that the propane buses have many advantages to that, although they do cost more. And so we're happy to have those discussions. And part of the thing we did was we've moved away some from the electric buses. All the electric buses we have right now have been purchased through grants, and so they have been equal to the price of a diesel bus. But now the grants have dried up, so now that premium for electric bus is like 100 and some thousand dollars more. And they also have limitations on the range they can drive and certain things.
So that's why you're seeing what you see here as our recommendation for that, but we're happy to continue that conversation. Thank you. And I think that's all I have right now. I'm really looking forward to some of these really cool things. The independent living labs are super cool, as is the transition academy, which is being built by district. So I thank you for the presentation. I'm sure I'll have other questions as we go forward, but right now, that's just where I'm looking at. Dr. Rasheed. Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the presentation. This is great. We still have another meeting, Mr. Lewis, so we have time for the fruit basket. Apologies if you guys already mentioned this, but the playgrounds, did you guys say that
when you design the playgrounds, will you keep the children with the sensory issues in mind, or is that standard? Yeah, so our new playgrounds are all inclusive playgrounds, and so they have a number of sensory things. And we'll make sure at some point in time to qualify exactly what you're referring to as that, but we can certainly share what all those things are. And so every playground we put in now is all inclusive. Thank you. Any further questions? Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ditto to Ms. Shurnoff. We're going to miss you. I did have one question I forgot to ask before. I think I missed it.
Where's Roby moving to again? Can you just go through that? Thank you. Did you say Roby was moving from- To Dominion ... Dominion? Yes. Our goal is to find a new home for Roby. We have not found that home at this point. One of the goals we have is to find, renovate, and have that program moved to a new home before the fall of 2028, when the secondary boundaries countywide take place, so that the board will have the space that is currently housed at Dominion available for capacity for the secondary boundary. So we are nearing that point where we really need to find
the home, and we're working everything we can with the real estate community, our friends at the county, and looking for a space for that. And as we narrow down those locations, we would come to the board and share those. But right now, we do not have a new home identified. So they wouldn't be moving to another high school. They'd have their own location? Is that- That's the goal, yes, ma'am. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Seeing no further questions, we'll move on to our next item. Thank you so much. Next up, we'll have item 4.02, professional learning overview for school year
2026-2027. Mr. Slevin had a question. Oh. I'm sorry. Thank you, Mr. Slevin. And let's see. Thank you, Chair Chandler and board members. We are pleased to be here tonight to provide you an overview of the '26, '27 school year professional learning plan. Today, we will share data from the '25, '26 school year and outline our professional learning vision for '26, '27. We will highlight how our work aligns to the LCPS priorities, and share the implementation of a consistent LCPS coaching model designed to build educator capacity and strengthen instructional practice and improve students'
outcomes across Loudoun County. I'm joined tonight by Ms. Nicole Lagoni, our Director of Professional Growth and Innovation. I'd also like to acknowledge a number of our supervisors who are here today to support this presentation, Ms. Jenny Miller, Ms. Rebecca Hasselback, and Ms. Amanda Kim, who really have done an amazing job this year when it comes to moving the work forward in this particular area for our teachers and families in LCPS. To start, we will reconnect with our '25, '26 professional learning priorities and then share some data we will have around participants' intent to implement what they learn, perceived value of professional learning, and perceived student impact of that
professional learning. To recap, there were four LCPS strategic priorities identified last year Our professional learning plan focused on these strategic priorities. And later in our presentation, we will talk about how these four same priorities will remain central to the professional learning work in the coming school year, which I know is appreciated by our teachers and principals. This data includes all professional learning and PowerSchool professional learning. Before reviewing the data, it's important to understand who is represented. Since June 2025, we have received over 15,500 survey responses in total.
Significantly, approximately 13,000 of these responses came from teachers and instructional staff, meaning classroom educators are driving 83% of the feedback we are seeing. That means the feedback we are seeing is largely driven by classroom educators and those directly supporting instruction. The statements on the slide represent survey questions around the intent to implement professional learning. Of the 15,508 total participant responses, 14,749 or 95.1% reported that they intend to implement what they learned. This includes approximately 12,241
teachers out of the 12,877 total teacher respondents, which indicates that a substantial majority of our educators are not only engaging in professional learning, but also planning to apply it directly in their classrooms. On the next slide, the data indicates the percentage of participants who perceive their professional learning as time well spent. Overall, 53.9 strongly agree and 37.3 agree, resulting in a 91.2 positive response rate. This positive feedback tells us that participants receive these learning experiences as relevant, valuable, and directly connected to their instructional
work. This positive perception equates to approximately 11,773 teachers who view the professional learning as valuable. This slide reflects participants' perception regarding student impact. A significant 94.7% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that their professional learning can positively impact student learning, including 57.8% who strongly agreed. This data demonstrates a strong and consistent belief among educators that professional learning is directly connected to student success and improved
outcomes. Specifically, this includes 12,202 teachers out of 12,879 total teachers who believe this learning translates into better student outcomes. Since June of '25, we have collected teacher perception data following professional learning experiences. Two consistent findings emerge. Teachers report that learning is relevant and they intend to apply it in their classrooms. This matters because professional learning impacts student outcomes only when it leads to changes in instruction. At this time, I'm going to turn it over to Ms. Zagone to talk a little bit about our strategic priorities going forward.
Great. I'll now share our vision for professional learning in the '26, '27 school year, starting with an overview of our strategy before concentrating on the intentional alignment of our professional learning activities with the LCPS strategic priorities. So the next few slides that you'll see will be referenced from this handout here. This handout will talk about professional learning for both our teachers as well as our leaders, or lead teachers that are in LCPS. One thing that I want to highlight on the first slide is our August professional
learning day coming up August 11th. Our teachers will return on August 10th, and they'll have some school-led professional learning or work days to prepare, and then our August 11th county-wide PD days. Underneath that, you'll see additional professional learning days. On this slide here, you'll see some training or professional learning for both administrators as well as our new hires. Lead Loudoun is our conference that we hold each year for our leadership staff, all leadership, instructional and non-instructional. Our day one is all leadership, and day two is our
instructional staff. And August 3rd is our Welcome One, that will begin with our new teachers, both new to LCPS and new to teaching as well. And on this slide, I just want to highlight the Teacher Teaching and Learning Leadership Institute. That's where we bring together all of our leads for our elementary subject contact leads, our middle school SALTs, and our high school department chairs. And this brings together our learning around the instructional framework and starts that cohort learning that happens throughout the year. Our vision for the '26, '27 school year focuses
on intentionally aligning our instructional framework to our school improvement process and professional learning and supports for our schools. Our instructional framework outlines our vision and tells us what high-quality instruction looks like in our classrooms. As a division, we are continuing to work on aligning the framework with the school improvement process and professional learning, and we're doing that through our instructional framework focus areas. Schools are currently engaging in the school improvement planning process, and as part of that work, they are identifying a focus area, establishing a goal, and determining the strategies needed to achieve that goal.
To support the process, our professional learning resources will be aligned to each focus area. Resources will include instructional strategies, foundational professional learning sessions, targeted learning opportunities, and implementation ideas that schools can use to support their schools. All the professional learning sessions that can be found in PowerSchool Professional Learning will be tagged with a focus area so that teachers can attend learning that directly ties to their school goals.As Mr. Slovin mentioned, the LCPS strategic priorities for the '26,
'27 school year remain consistent with the focus areas established in '25, '26. These priorities, creating a sense of belonging, focusing on literacy and numeracy, ensuring deeply engaging instruction, and creating pathways for students, continue to guide our work and provide the foundation for professional learning and school support efforts across LCPS. We have three essential county-wide staff development days scheduled for this year: August 11th, November 3rd, and March 8th. The structure of the professional learning on these dates is deliberately designed
to bring our instructional vision, the instructional framework, to life in every classroom. Sessions will be clearly tagged to specific instructional framework focus areas, and school leadership will make recommendations to teachers for the targeted learning paths. As I highlighted, our August 7th Teacher Leader Institute is an opportunity for our teacher leaders that are our elementary contacts, middle school SALTs, and high school chairs. And we will continue that learning throughout the year. So building on our general offerings, we will have embedded dedicated learning for those teacher leaders that happen throughout the year. First, under the instructional framework umbrella, we will design and facilitate
targeted professional learning for those leaders, including our elementary subject contacts, middle school SALTs, and high school chairs. And the purpose of this is to build their capacity and also provide consistent supports to our school. Second, the collaboration and community component is important because it brings together a cohort model, so these leaders will learn together. It gives the teacher leaders the opportunity to engage in sustained learning tied to their school improvement goals and foster a strong community and enable them to spread the best practice from school
to school. And then finally, through our content connections, our content offices will play a vital role. They will highlight how best practices are integrated into the LCPS curriculum and the high-quality instructional materials, ensuring our direct support for our school improvement and the instructional framework focus areas. Finally, I wanted to share about our LCPS coaching model. Coaching is a form of job-embedded professional learning that provides ongoing support directly connected to the daily work in our schools. One of the key priorities this year was the development of an LCPS coaching
model. The creation of the model was a collaborative collective process with input from a variety of stakeholder groups. The model was designed to create a consistent approach to coaching across the division, while ensuring coaching efforts remained focused on instructional priorities, school improvement goals, and building educator capacity. And you guys have handouts that are the entire coaching model for you to reference. The model was created to establish a consistent framework for school support roles, and it focuses coaching efforts on instructional priorities. When coaching is implemented consistently across LCPS, support for teachers
becomes more aligned and effective. Over time, this strengthens instructional practices and contributes to improved outcomes for students. This slide you saw earlier and you've seen before, really connects, coaching connects within this, and it guides how our teachers are supported. So the coaching model aligns with the instructional framework and the school improvement process. As the model rolls out next year, each group of coaches will have an opportunity to engage in their own professional learning about the model itself and dive into the concepts outlined within the model.
In turn, they will be able to support the delivery of professional learning at the school level, and the learning will be strategically designed around the school's focus areas and goals. To ensure the successful implementation of our new LCPS coaching model and overall instructional vision, we have established clear implementation supports for the fall. These two main supports are strategic structures and core focus areas. Under strategic structures, we will focus on formalizing consistent professional learning frameworks and regularly bringing the leaders in the
school support roles together. This will ensure a common division-wide approach to coaching and supporting schools, consistently leveraging the coaching model. Regarding our core focus areas, we're committed to using our existing structures and meetings that these groups have to facilitate targeted professional learning for those in coaching roles. This dedicated effort is designed to build their capacity to effectively coach and support our teachers. We appreciate being able to highlight our professional learning and would love to hear from you based on your school visits and interactions with
our community, what else might we need to be thinking about in regards to professional learning next year? All right. Thank you so much for the presentation. Board members, do you have any questions? Mr. Pepper? Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for this presentation. Professional learning is so interesting to me because not only do I deliver PD, and having done so for LCPS a few years ago, but I also experience it from the educator side. First of all, let me say this: You guys need to be commended for whatever you're doing because these numbers are phenomenal in your survey. It is few and far between that I find a district where over 90% of the
teachers enjoy and/or find value in their professional development they're doing. So this is simply incredible. I just need to state that from the very, very beginningI love that you are doing this through school-based focus areas. I love that there are these themes: belonging, clarity, structures, literacy. I will say, I always get a little worried when I see self-directed search for teachers. I would love if... And I don't know if this is even a possibility, but some of their choices could be a little more narrowed. I will tell you from personal experience that I always chose the one that I thought
was the lowest stress, least responsibility PD sometimes. What's the easiest one I can sit through, not the one that's going to make me think critically or maybe improve my practice all the time. Depends on the mood I'm in. So maybe narrowing that down. But really, I wanted just to say how incredible I think this is, how much of a difference I think we're making, and I love just the focus, the narrowing of this. So you all should be commended for your work. Thank you, Mr. Peppa. I could respond briefly. I think what I really appreciate what this team has done, working with the Office of School Leadership, working with
school improvement, there's really a range of connection between how our professional learning is being presented. And so while most of our teachers are going to make connections to what is the school focusing on, what do we want to improve? The team has been intentional about increasing the transparency about how the professional learning's connected. So principals may want to have a coaching conversation with a teacher and say, "Hey, why don't you think about this range of options?" That didn't exist prior. So that's part of the vision. So, we're thoughtful about that. We need to get there. But I appreciate the observation.
Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much for this presentation as well. I am very excited about the work here. The alignment, the vision, the clarity. I feel like for so long, at least when I was working here in Loudon, it was like spinning a million different plates, and it was really hard to narrow in on not only what I wanted to do for professional development personally, but when I was on the flip side of offering it through the reading department, it was like, "How are we going to get people to sign on for this?" And especially with coaching, I'm particularly excited to see a coaching
model because they're a dime a dozen. There's a million different research philosophies out there about coaching, and I think for a long time, I don't want to use the word siloed, but I think there's been more collaboration over the last year, for sure. Definitely the last three years as we've driven towards this goal of making it more refined, streamlined. And then bringing the foundational work of the instructional framework and driving the vision from there makes things really, really easy to see the clarity of how this applies to best practices. So, I have a question about the coaching model, which is,
coaching is challenging. It can be. It can also be wonderful if someone's super open to it. Is the goal to have those tough conversations and make it, I see division-wide, across the division is what you've said here. Is that the goal? And how are we going to approach teachers that really love coaching and thrive in those spaces of that feedback loop and are ready for it all the time, versus the teachers that might be more resistant? What is the plan to bring everyone into this coaching model? So I really appreciate Ms. Agoni's leadership of the
development of this coaching model with her team. So I'll let her answer a little bit how she has collaborated across offices. I think just simply having a consistent language is going to help us. We do want the coaching module to be invitational and welcoming and part of that, a sense of belonging we're trying to build with our staff. Part of that comes from using common language, having some consistency in how it's applied. So Ms. Agoni can share a little bit about the work in developing the model. So the coaching model, when we started to develop this, we wanted to focus first on the fifth floor and our instructional technology facilitators, our content
coaches, whether they were math resource teachers or ELA. So we wanted to focus their instructional coaches. And we quickly invited and learned that not just the fifth floor wanted to collaborate on this. So we have partnered with mentoring and coaching. Special education has been part of the process, EL facilitators as well. And so, I think because all of these groups were part of developing the coaching model, and they've all had the opportunity to provide feedback on it, I think that many of them are seeing
themselves in this coaching model. But the question you asked was really about how can this happen consistently with all of those groups? And so I think the implementation plan that we have is to continue bringing these leaders together on a regular basis. So the people that are supporting your instructional coaches, the people that are supporting your math resource teachers, your mentor coaches, so that they're regularly thinking about how they support the people in those roles. And then the second part to that is the professional learning that will provide them within their meeting structure.
So they have consistent meeting structures that they have already with their coaching group or the people who leverage coaching in their roles. And there they can receive consistent professional learning, and I think that consistent professional learning will also be supportive. And I'll just end with something I think that's important too. Belief follows practice. And I think part of the reason why principals ask for coaches, they ask for math resource teachers, they want support, is because they see the success that's happening at other schools when it comes to student achievement and what their students and teachers are able to accomplish.
So part of the story needs to be we're seeing results in terms of moving the needle for student achievement across all subgroups. Yeah, I obviously agree with all of that. I think that one of the things that I'm hopeful in is that instead of things being spread out and having this universal focus, and we're all streamlined, we're playing for the same team essentially now is how I see it. I'm hopeful that it will catch fire faster for those that are resistant. Because I think the consistency of ensuring that people that want coaching is great, but people that need coaching
also needs to be there. And so I'm hopeful that as people see it works and it's great and it's not as scary as we think it is, and then hopefully more and more people will join on. You did ask us based on our school visits interactions. I will say one thing that is really coming up a lot after the success with our co-teaching PD is basically people doing work together in classroom spaces with the same kids need to be going to the same PD. Not going one off to one and one to another, and then coming back and having to do double work by sharing that with each other.
What was so brilliant about co-teaching was the gen ed teacher and the specialist went together. They heard the same thing. They could collaborate on the spot, and then they could immediately come back and apply it. And I don't know exactly how we would do this, but I know our TAs are chomping at the bit to get great PD. They are in there with the students every single day, and they are very capable, and they want to. And I'm hearing from principals and general education teachers more and more and more like, "How can we get our TAs up to speed?" Because they're ready and they want to.
So that's my two cents. Thank you so much for your work. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. As mentioned by Ms. Chernoff, there is some resistance. So why would you say roughly around 800 teachers did not react positively to the professional learning? Can you tell me? There could be a number of reasons. Starting with did they find it relevant? Was the facilitator of the professional learning connecting what the learning was to their experience? Did they feel the topic would make a difference in their classroom?
They could be having a bad day. What are some other reasons? Did we get any anecdotal feedback in the comments or anything like that? Well, there's several that strongly disagreed that it would help. So I'm trying to figure out why they would think that way. Sometimes also this would be any session that's in our PowerSchool professional learning. So for example, on a countywide PD day, sometimes we bring outside vendors in. We bring somebody that is training from HMH. They don't connect as well to our Loudoun County way, so that could be a place that we
see some negative results. I know when we looked at the data, there would be more negative responses from sessions that were facilitated by those that were not LCPS employees. And so that is something that we have noticed in the data as well. And forgive me, what's HMH again? It's a textbook vendor that we used for instructional resources. For reading. For reading. There's so many acronyms. Sorry, I apologize. I'm always trying to keep up here. Yes, Ms. McCarty. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm always really excited about professional development learning. I think you guys are doing a really fantastic job, so thank you for what
you're doing. I know we've had an opportunity, Dr. Sleven, for us to talk about QTEL training in particular. And so I'd love for you guys to talk a little bit more about how that gets folded into this, and then ideally, what would you guys like to see in the future? My hope is that we can really highly invest in that. I think we talked about getting some facilitators trained up, if that's a option for us here, to have our own trainers here in LCPS. So where are we in that process, and what's your thinking on that? So QTEL and the work that Ms. Agoni does with Ms.
Rosario, our director of English learners, is a good example of where we're headed when it comes to aligning school improvement, the needs of schools, and professional learning. And so to answer your question directly about QTEL, we are going to be positioned going into next school year to have local trainers on staff that are able to provide more consistent access to QTEL cohorts. That is a pretty heavy investment of teacher time. I think they have to be out of the building for four days. And in the past, we've had to actually contract out with an outside vendor to come in and do those days. And so by having folks that could offer that training,
there's going to be a lot of increased flexibility. Part of what I think is going to be helpful about the way we organize professional learning through PowerSchool is that we'll be able to have a better snapshot of just who has been trained by building. We'll be able to prioritize who gets the seats in the trainings based on school improvement goals and where the numbers are moving when it comes to EL support. And we'll also have a better sense of who needs that coaching support after they have the training. Who needs the feedback, walk through data, like how are things going and checking in. The investment the board supported in
the FY27 budget is really going to have an impact in terms of the numbers. We also have so much excitement from principals. We're actually going to have our first local QTEL Leadership Institute, where in the past we've had to send folks down to DC. I went to one last January, for example. We're going to have that in the summer. So people are chomping at the bit to participate in QTEL. Sorry, I'm hoping I'm addressing your question, but in relation to this particular presentation tonight, it's like how are weIdentifying the resources we need, deploying them effectively in response to school-based needs, and
then checking in on what was the impact. Like, did it have the impact that we need? And then next year, maybe making decisions about do we need more? Did we meet the amount of Q-Tell training and seats that we needed? So, tying it to the professional learning cycle in terms of the professional learning plan. That'd be great. And I think just kind of piggybacking on what Ms. Chernov said, too, about, I know that these are, if I'm correct, is it voluntary to participate in Q-Tell at this point in time? I think principals do a good job of identifying it, and it's one of those trainings that have really strong word of mouth in terms of-
Yeah ... there's a demand for it. Well, the results are speaking for themselves. Right. So, yeah, absolutely. It reminds me a little bit of the letters training. I think people had a good experience with that, and we really expanded that access a number of years ago with the Virginia Literacy Act. So, probably as we build more cohorts and we train more teachers, we're going to start getting to the range of teachers that may need to be convinced or said, "Hey, this is what we're doing. How can we support you to get in that training?" But we're not there just yet. Yeah. So this, I guess, would be the one thing that I would just really encourage you all to do. And in whatever way we need to support it, I would love to be able
to do that. But it seems to be, so far, one of the things that has moved the needle farthest fastest- Mm-hmm ... as our example at Parkview this last year. So, I would love to see us move quickly in getting this fully implemented across the board in all of our schools that are really struggling academically in whatever way that is and really support our teachers in coaching and the original training and coaching and follow-on and whatever other resources we need. I think it's the thing that right now can crack the nut on the
issue of performance. So I want to make sure that we have the resources available to you all to do that. I'm not sure what that full suite of resources looks like, but that's a conversation I would love to have with you guys offline about that. And that I'm sure Ms. Rosario is watching this or will as this topic has come up, as well as her team, and I want to acknowledge the full spectrum of the professional learning and support from that team, the team that she leads. And so while Q-Tell is one piece of that, the EL team has done a really great job in terms of EL foundations, ELD standards, and a
progression of supports for schools, and all of that is connected and needs to be communicated clearly to our principals. So, in fact, I'm meeting with the EL team next week where they're going to be reviewing how they're putting the different pieces together with the new resources you all have supported. And that needs to be really coherent to our principals going into next year, as well as to the board, because I'm sure we'll have an opportunity to talk about EL instruction, whether it's through CNI or the full board at some point. So we are super appreciative of the resources related to EL that have been supported by the board, but we also know that
we need to be accountable to results and show that in terms of the moving the needle for our principals and our families in Loudoun. Thank you for that. And again, I really do appreciate the entire suite of EL teams and supports that we have for sure. I just know that program in particular is really interesting, and I want to just know a bit more about how that fits in here. So thank you for this. All right. Board members, any further questions? All right. Seeing none, thank you so much for the presentation. Thank you both. Ms. Chernov, well, actually, I'm going to take a moment and step back. We're going to, and we have been planning to go into closed session, and have a working dinner this evening.
I would like to point out for board members, there is a further communication. I just want to make sure you have an opportunity to see it in your inbox. And with that, we will move on to our next item, which is item number 5, closed session. Ms. Chernov, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board recess this public meeting and enter into a closed meeting pursuant to 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia for the following. Discussion or consideration of matters that would involve the disclosure of information contained in a scholastic record concerning any LCPS
student and consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members and consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation where such consultation of briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body as authorized by sections 2.2-3711A2 and 2.2-3711A7 of the Code of Virginia. And consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding a specific legal matter related to a current public employee as authorized by Section
2.2-3711A8 of the Code of Virginia and discussion of the performance/conduct of a specific public employee as authorized by 2.2-3711A1 of the Code of Virginia. Thank you. Ms. Chernov has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. It has been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board go into closed session. Is there any discussion? Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam. Just to make sure I understand, so we have two items. Are we covering both of them during the dinner session, or are we doing one later? Our plan is to cover both at dinner. Okay, great. Thank you. Okay. Thank you.
All right. Seeing no further questions or discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Stinson, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members voting yes and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, the board is now in closed session, and the school board meeting will reconvene at 6:30Is
coming out of closed session, and we'll have to go through some of our mechanisms in order to reenter the public meeting. So please bear with us. Ms. Chernov, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the closed meeting be adjourned and that the Loudoun County School Board reconvene its public meeting, and that the minutes of the public meeting reflect that no formal action was taken in the closed meeting. Thank you. Ms. Chernov has made a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. It has been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board adjourn the closed session. Is there any discussion? All right. Seeing none, clerk, please open the vote.
Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. Ms. Chernov, do you have another motion? I do. I move that the following resolution certifying the closed meeting be adopted and reflected in the minutes of this public meeting, Resolution Number 47-25/26. Whereas the Loudoun County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of
Information Act, and whereas 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by the school board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Loudoun County School Board hereby certifies that to the best of each member's knowledge, one, only public business matters lawfully exempt from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in closed meeting to which this certification applies, and two, only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the Loudoun County School
Board. Thank you. Ms. Chernov has made a motion to certify the closed meeting. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. It has been properly moved and seconded that the Loudoun County School Board certify the closed meeting. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. Ms. Chernov, do you have another motion? No. Is someone required to come out? No, I didn't. Oh, okay. At this point, we have completed
the process of coming out of closed. Thank you for your patience, and good evening. Welcome. The board is now out of recess, and we will continue on with item number seven, the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. Tonight, the national anthem will be performed by the Woodgrove High School Guitar Ensemble and the Harmony Middle School Guitar Quartet. The Woodgrove Guitar Ensemble is a group of dedicated musicians who consistently earn superior ratings at their district guitar assessments and are recognized for their commitment to their technical ability and musical achievement.
Members of the ensemble have distinguished themselves through numerous individual accomplishments, including participation in Virginia's Governor's School for the Fine Arts, finalist placements in the senior division of the Marlow Guitar International Competition, and principal positions in the All Virginia Guitar Ensemble. The Harmony Guitar Quartet, an auditioned ensemble, has been featured in school concerts and has performed throughout Loudoun County. These students won first prize for the 2026
Agado Guitar Competition Grade Seven and Eight Ensemble Division. They are excited to start the next chapter of their guitar journey next year at Woodgrove High School. This combined group, conducted by Harmony's Mr. William H. Wells and Woodgrove's Ms. Samantha Oakley, represents the highest standards of musicianship, creativity, and dedication. Through their performances and service, they enrich the cultural life of the Western Loudoun community and serve as outstanding ambassadors for music education.
We are proud to celebrate their achievements and contributions and for them to share their talent with you this evening. Welcome and thank you for being here tonight. 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. Are we
standing? That was incredible. Thank you all so much. All right. Everyone, we'll move on to item number nine. This is our school board and administrative advisory committee update, and tonight we will be hearing a report from the Gifted Education Advisory Committee. I'm going to ask you guys to come on up, and I'll also ask that you introduce yourself.
On is good. If I can get the clicker on, I'm good. Okay. Good evening, everyone. I'm very glad to be here tonight as the gifted supervisor alongside the dedicated leadership of our Gifted Education Advisory Committee. As we wrap up the school year, I want to recognize the wonderful teamwork of this group. GEAC brings together a great mix of parents, educators, and community members, all focused on supporting and growing the gifted education program in Loudoun County. Tonight's update is a true reflection of that collaboration.
We are excited to highlight what the committee and the gifted program has accomplished, share the committee's recommendations for the future, provide a few program updates, and celebrate the fantastic work of the gifted teachers and students. We are also thrilled to be joined by three of our exceptional gifted students who will share firsthand accounts of their experiences this year. And it's always with my pleasure to introduce the GEAC co-chair, Patty Peterson, and the executive committee member, Jennifer Shea, who will walk us through the committee's update.
Good evening, and thank you for having us. As Wendy mentioned, I'm Patty Peterson, the GEAC co-chair, an LCPS gifted resource teacher, and a proud parent and grandparent of gifted learners. We appreciate this opportunity to share the committee's work. We present recommendations and highlight our fantastic staff and students. As you can see on the slide, GEAC's role is to act as a bridge. We're a support group made up of parents, family members, educators, and community members working together to review our programs, offer suggestions, and promote community awareness about gifted
education in LCPS. Good evening, everyone. I'm Jennifer Shea, a middle school gifted educator and a parent of gifted learners. To guide our work effectively, GEAC relies on a core set of norms. These principles ensure that we positively represent our community, collaborate closely with division staff, and use the latest research and best practices to guide our efforts. Most importantly, they keep our focus exactly where it belongs, on broad, division-wide gifted education issues. GEAC meets five times throughout the school year to focus on key
issues in the field and to provide important updates for our community. These sessions give our members and participants an opportunity to work in small groups where we discuss the unique issues facing our program and collaborate on ways to support our students. We make it a priority to keep our work grounded in current research, and to do that, we invite both internal LCPS leaders and outside experts to share their expertise with the committee. This past year, our agendas were packed with incredibly relevant
topics. As you can see on this slide, we explored everything from the impact of AI on gifted learners to navigating advanced math pathways. We also focused heavily on student wellbeing with presentations on twice-exceptional learners. And we even hosted a fantastic gifted teacher and student panel discussion. Looking at the program highlights, our committee has been glad to see steady progress in several key areas. First, we want to note the launch of advanced professional learning for LCPS staff, which gives teachers practical tools to
support gifted and twice-exceptional learners right in the regular classroom. We've also observed great teamwork taking place across departments. The gifted office has worked closely with the offices of special education and English learners to expand the reach of services and improve how we identify high-ability students from historically underrepresented groups. Family engagement has been another positive focus. Through five Edge Family Academy sessions and other events, the division has provided families with useful,
actionable strategies to support their children at home. Finally, we appreciate the division's focus on accountability. The program evaluation with the research office is now complete, and we are already using that data to measure our effectiveness and guide our upcoming program updates. The following GEAC recommendations represent the big picture areas where we hope the board will continue to partner with us and support our growth. Specifically, we hope the board will continue supporting the expansion of our special programs to guarantee multiple,
rigorous academic pathways for gifted learners at all grade levels. On the operational side, we are asking the administration to look at the two critical areas for your future consideration. First, we ask them to revise the staffing standards for elementary gifted resource teachers to ensure that there is enough staffing to allow our teachers to fully carry out all of their responsibilities with fidelity. Second, we need division leadership to consider and secure designated classroom spaces for gifted programs within all of our school buildings. Meanwhile, the gifted office will continue doing the heavy lifting on the ground.
They will keep up their close collaboration with the offices of special education and English learners to refine our identification protocols for high-ability students from historically underrepresented groups. Finally, the gifted office will continue leveraging that recent program evaluation data to guide our resource allocation, funding priorities, and future planning. So building on the committee's feedback, the Gifted Education Office has been planning next steps. And so let's look at the specific program updates and new initiatives designed to support our gifted learners moving
forward. So looking ahead at the upcoming school year, we are incredibly excited about some key enhancements designed to strengthen our program. First, we are focused on communication and community building. We are creating a formal onboarding process to welcome and guide the families of newly identified gifted learners, and we are establishing a new student advisory group so our learners have a direct voice in shaping their experiences. Second, we are planning to expand our services and adding new components to how we identify talent. We are entering the planning phase to extend dedicated gifted services
to our third-grade students, laying the groundwork next year so those actual services can begin for pilot schools in 2027, 2028 school year. At the same time, we are introducing an alternative assessment to help us better identify high-ability students from backgrounds that have been historically harder to reach. And finally, we are partnering with our school leaders for success. We are rolling out an administrator toolkit for principals, giving them the resources and data they need to support gifted program
effectively right in their own buildings. Now that we've shared our recommendations and plans for the future, it's time to take a few moments to highlight the incredible accomplishments of our gifted teachers and students from this past school year, and we have three of our Spectrum students joining us today to share their perspective firsthand. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Niharika Luri. I'm a student from Stonehill Middle School. This program had a very positive impact on me because it taught me both technical and creative skills. I learned how circuits work and how different components such as conductors, insulators, resistors, batteries,
and LEDs work together to create functioning projects. One of the biggest things I learned was problem-solving. When our circuits didn't work, we had to troubleshoot, test different solutions, and carefully check our wiring until we found the issue. I also learned persistence because many challenges came up during our project, but we continued working until we found a solution. The program also helped me develop creativity. For our final project, my group designed a two-player board game where players search for hidden objects and compete for the highest score. Creating the game required us to think about the rules, the scoring system, the theme, and the overall player experience.
We also created a light-up painting inspired by the game, which allowed us to combine art with technology. Overall, this experience helped me learn and improve my creativity, teamwork, time management, and engineering skills. It showed me how technology and creativity can work together to create something amazing. Okay. We are thrilled to highlight our STEM innovation partnership with Orbelinks Academy, which is now in its second successful year of implementation within our Middle School Spectrum program. This initiative bridges classroom learning with real-world engineering concepts. Using a hands-on, inquiry-based approach,
our students work through the engineering design process to design, build, and troubleshoot complex community-focused projects. In fact, if you had a chance to walk through the lobby before tonight's meeting, you saw several of our talented students teams proudly displaying their innovation projects firsthand. I want to give a very quick shout-out and thank you to Ferry Riar, the founder of Orbelinks Academy, for being such an incredible partner to our division. The data from this partnership speaks for itself. Post-program assessment shows an outstanding 97% overall
mastery on core technical concepts across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Additionally, 90% of participating students reported a massive boost in their confidence, noting they now feel capable of independent application and problem-solving. We'd also like to take a moment to recognize the Spectrum teachers here tonight who implemented this program. But the best way to understand the impact of this program is to hear directly from more learners themselves. I'm delighted to introduce our three Spectrum students that are here to share their personal experiences with you. We've already heard from Stonehill, and we're going to move on to Gum-
Hi, my name is Khushi Khanvilkar from Gum Spring Middle School. I think Orbelinks was a fun and very creative... outlet for all of my innovations and thoughts that I had. One example of this would be new experiences that I learned and went through. For example, I learned a lot about circuits and motors using the projects that I worked on. Another point that I had was teamwork. I found myself getting closer to people that I normally wouldn't have spoken to, using our shared interest of circuits and motors. I also worked with my group a lot.
We worked together on stuff that we were stuck on, for example, circuits and our Orblinks project. And I also bonded with my classmates a lot. It was a really fun and fulfilling experience that we both went through. Hello, my name is Leah Vaprascas, and I'm also from Gum Spring Middle School. So the first thing that I wanted to touch up on was that critical thinking and problem-solving skills was a huge thing that we got to work upon. Especially with Khushi and I about to go into high school, it was definitely something that we needed to work on. And yeah, with all of our projects, we found ourselves
with a lot of problems, and we were able to get through it by working together, and that was a big part of our year. The fun and fulfilling work that we did was insane. I did some stuff that I never thought I'd get to do, like make circuits. Each project was very unique and different from the last, and overall, it was just really amazing. Each class was different. It was all very enjoyable and touching up on what she said, yeah, I got to bond with a ton of people that I never thought I'd speak with. Yeah, and I think that's it. Thank you. We also want to extend a massive congratulations to our remarkable
Spectrum students from Trailside Middle School, who were recognized as global finalists and state honorees in the prestigious World Of 8 Billion international competition. To give you a little background, this unique competition challenges students worldwide to create a short, impactful video linking global population growth to a specific global challenge. Students have to thoroughly research their topic, connect it to population growth, and pitch concrete, sustainable solutions. An achievement of this scale takes
incredible guidance, and we want to say a huge thank you to Lisa Dolinich, the gifted resource teacher at Trailside Middle, for her exceptional leadership and dedication guiding her students through this rigorous project. To be named a global finalist in a field that includes thousands of entries from all over the world is a truly monumental milestone. It highlights not only our students' deep understanding of complex global issues, but also their exceptional skills in research, communication, and digital media.
We're incredibly proud of these Trailside learners and Ms. Dolinich for representing our division so well on the world stage. We also want to spotlight a highly successful leadership and mentorship initiative at Sterling Elementary, involving our fourth and fifth-grade Fusion students. This year, these upper elementary students stepped up to volunteer as mentors to the school's youngest preschool learners, actively supporting their development in social interaction, speech, and language. The high point of the program came when the Fusion students took full
initiative to plan and run the preschool's winter party, demonstrating exceptional empathy, organization, and leadership through service. An initiative this meaningful requires incredible coordination, and we want to give a shout-out to Jennifer Daniel, the gifted resource teacher at Sterling, for her vision and dedication in leading this program. The resulting cross-grade friendships beautifully enriched the school culture and gave our Fusion students a profound understanding of what it truly means to lead by serving
others. In addition, we want to congratulate the Spectrum students at Stonehill Middle School for their national, regional, and state placements at the InvestRight and Stock Market Game competitions, Goshen Post fifth-grade Fusion students for raising funds for St. Jude's Research Hospital through their newly operating Gator Pond Goods store, and Sugar Land Fusion students who earned academic honors this year. So I'm very excited about these next two slides. Tonight, I'm incredibly proud to celebrate Mr. Alan Skubal, the gifted resource teacher at Cool
Spring Elementary, who has been honored as the Virginia Association for the Gifted Teacher of the Year. If you know Alan, you know he's a true celebrity among his students and an indispensable leader within our division's gifted education team. He goes far beyond standard requirements to display deeply engaging, inclusive lessons while serving as a dedicated advocate for advanced learners. His profound impact is best captured by a parent who shared that, "As a family, I can't describe how great a feeling it is
to know that my kids have an advocate at the school, to have somebody who can see my kids for who they really are." Alan embodies the very best of Loudoun County Public Schools, and we are thrilled to recognize his dedication to equity, excellence, and student success. And this next one's going to be difficult. So tonight, we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to Patty PetersenAs she celebrates 28 years of dedicated service to Loudoun County Public Schools, including 21 wonderful years as a gifted resource teacher.
A former gifted teacher of the year herself, Patty has been a true cornerstone of our division, serving as a lead teacher, a passionate mentor to new educators, a creative curriculum developer, and a vital co-chair for GIAC. Above all, she has been a tireless advocate for our gifted teachers, students, and families. Patty, your gift for mentorship and your immense impact on our program has shaped gifted education in LCPS for the better. We are so incredibly grateful for your wonderful years of dedication,
and we wish you all the best in retirement, and we expect you to come back and visit and help us. Thank you. Thank you. Patty will definitely be missed by everybody. This concludes our presentation for this evening. Thank you for your time and continued support of our gifted learners and educators. We're happy to address any questions you might have at this time, and we look forward to keeping you updated as these exciting plans move forward. Thank you so much to the GIAC team for the presentation. And let me just say to our Spectrum students, I want to let you know how impactful it is to have you here and to be able to hear directly from you about
your experience as students. Thank you for taking the time to be here, and know that your voice matters to us because we're all here in service of you. So with that, I'll open that up. Board members, do you have any questions or comments? Dr. Rashid. More of a comment, Chair. I attended the Orblinks Academy Spectrum Student Showcase a month ago at Stone Hill Middle School, and it was amazing how they really applied what they learned in STEM. And I saw very interesting things of how they moved a ball across. I don't know how they did it, but it was so many things that it
was just very interesting. And I saw the joy in the students and how cohesive they were and how they made friends fast, and it was quite a delight to see. And then we're also going to miss you, Ms. Peterson. So thank you for all you do. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. And it's been a joy to join GIAC as the school board representative this year. You guys are doing amazing things. I was able to see, I know you talked a little bit about the AI discussion that we had and the project that we actually talked about earlier today at Waterford with the courtyard development. Sometimes your meetings end up on top of these board meetings, which makes it
always a balancing act, but I do appreciate the great work you're doing. As far as the students, thank you guys for being out here. I know it's not easy to speak in front of a board of students, but you guys did such a great job sharing your experiences. It's lovely. I will also speak as a parent of a student who has recently entered the Fusion program and who absolutely adores it and who adores the good work you're doing. And her Fusion teacher's also retiring, too. So I don't know how you're going to replace these wonderful people because Patty, I just joined the school board this year, but I'm going to take a minute here just to say I bump into you everywhere. Whether it's at How to See the Mind judge
training or at a GIAC meeting or even here at a school reading, and the legacy that you're leaving at LCPS is wonderful. So thank you for your service, and thank you to the committee. And I'm also excited that you're expanding this down to third grade, because I've got another one coming, and there's a chance he could be there, too. Thank you. Yes, Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much for the presentation, and I echo all the things. It's great to hear from students, and I love that you tried something new and that you found out that it was something that you really liked, and you met new people. I think that that's amazing. That's the goal. I want to thank the committee so much for the recommendations.
I think this is a piece, especially as we look at the staffing standard. I know we've had the evaluation. We've had the report in curriculum instruction committee. I know it has come up the last few years, but oftentimes, staffing standards really revolve around enrollment conversations or kids that are struggling or below grade level or need that extra boost. But we really have a commitment here in LCPS to serve all students and the needs that they have, and that includes extension of learning for our gifted learners. And so I hear you, and I want you to know that I see
that, and we will be talking with staff certainly about how we can make those shifts. I know the elementary teachers have also expressed the need and flexibility within the master schedule. That's been an ongoing conversation as well, as well as the gifted teachers reaching out to us about needing some of these things that you've also listed. And I love that you're joining in with our special programs conversation and advocating for your needs there, too. That's something that we need to be continually reminded of, and so I'm very appreciative of that. And Ms. Peterson, thank you so much for your service to LCPS.
I hope you can relax a little bit before they make you come back and help. All right, seeing no further... Oh, excuse me. Pardon me. Mr. Svendsen. Thank you, Madam Chair. I first wanted to say congratulations to Ms. Peterson, who was my third-grade teacher, for her dedication to LCPS all these years, and to have this legacy of educating students in third grade and in the gifted program. Thank you very much, and hoping that you have a restful retirement before you come back and help us with this work. I had a, and I really, like Ms. Chernov was saying, appreciate the
recommendations you all have provided on the staffing standard and the dedicated spaces and look forward to working with you all on those needs. And it's something that I've heard from principals when I visited schools that having more gifted staff would be helpful in their school environments. And I'm curious to the extent that we're expanding this program to third grade, how increasing the staffdedicated to the gifted program, how that interplays with the
expansion to third grade, and how important that is if it is expanding. Thanks. Two things. One, I think our plan is to roll it out slowly. So that gives us a little bit of time to make sure we have what we need as we move to expand third-grade services to all schools. And I think it's vital that we really work very closely with Budget to determine a staffing standard that is fair and that really provides that man-woman power that the schools need to make this happen with fidelity, because we
don't want to roll something out that we can't do well. Thank you. I appreciate that. Yes, I think we want to make sure whatever we're doing, it's done well and with the sufficient resources to make sure it's serving all our students. So looking forward to partnering with you all on that. All right. May I ask Mr. Spencer a question? Sure. Do you still know everything about every president that was ever in office? Today we did drive by the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, and I was able to regale my family with some little details about Martin Van Buren. So a little bit. Yeah. That was delightful, right?
He was an expert, and it was always so much fun that he shared everything he knew, but he knew it all. And trivia that none of us would have bothered to even read in the first place, but it was always a lot of fun. So thank you. Well, Ms. Peterson, thank you so much for your service to LCPS and for sharing this wonderful information with the school board- Yeah ... which I'm sure we will cherish for the rest of our term. Any further questions or comments from the board? All right, thank you so very much for being here tonight. We appreciate the update. All right. And
with that, we will move on to item number 10, recognitions. Our one LCPS spotlight this evening is on sustainability and the green team at Watson Mountain Middle School. Come on up. Thank you. All right. And then I'll just ask you please to introduce your team. Absolutely. Okay. Good evening, Dr. Spence, Chair Chandler, and distinguished members of the school board. My name is Lenny Compton, the proud principal of Watson Mountain Middle School, and I've brought a few amazing school personnel with me tonight, along with some of our phenomenal scholars, to give you
a brief but inspiring snapshot about our sustainability efforts at Watson Mountain Middle School. Before I begin, I want to thank a couple of people here, Ms. Haynes and her daughter, Mrs. Haynes, who are on our team, as well as our ITF, Mr. Adam Howells, who's back there somewhere, who helped document things here. And before I give things over to our assistant principal, Ms. Oliver, and our champion, Mrs. Lurch, one of our science teachers, I want to also thank Mrs. Clark Sipe, who is the Director of Sustainability, and Ms. Dariel Timothy, who is the school science supervisor for LCPS,
for their continued partnership for our sustainability efforts. So tonight is not about listening to us, it's about listening to our scholars, and we're going to hand it over to them for the next steps. Ms. Oliver. All right. Can I say next slide, or is there a click somewhere? Next slide. Next slide. Okay, there we go. All right. Good evening, Dr. Spence, Chair Chandler, and members of the school board. In 2024, Watson Mountain Middle School proudly opened its doors with a mission to discover the genius of every child. Today, we serve 1,170 sixth and seventh graders, providing them with exceptional experiences that
spark curiosity, ignite passion, and prepare them for the future. Our journey directly aligns to the LCPS strategic goal of empowering students and enriching staff. By embracing the power of yes, our team and educators have unlocked some really incredible opportunities. When we say yes to our students and yes to teacher innovation, we allow our students to take the lead in the real world and teachers to find amazing connections. Through the value of strategic connections, community partnerships, and proactive grant writing, we are bringing goals three and four
of the LCPS sustainability framework to life. Most importantly, this collaborative hands-on work creates a lasting sense of belonging for our Yetis. When we invest in our environment, we invest in our community, and it's my absolute privilege to introduce Ms. Lurch, our Watson Mountain Middle School Teacher of the Year, and our incredible green team to showcase all the innovative and student-led work that they have accomplished. Next slide. Good evening. My name is Amy Lurch, and I am a seventh-grade life science
teacher at Watson Mountain Middle School. I once read that the ability to say yes is a superpower that we all have at our disposal. When we say yes, we invite possibility into our lives and the ability to learn what we are capable of. I'm here because along the way, people kept saying yes to me as a teacher, yes to raising trout in the classroom, yes to growing food with students, yes to exploring humane science practices, and yes to partnering with our local community. Those yeses made all the difference.
Because of that support, my classroom has transformed into a living laboratory. We're raising brook trout from eggs, giving students a hands-on understanding of life cycles, ecosystems, and conservation with the support of Trout in the Classroom and the Division of Teaching and Learning.Through a grant from the Kind Science program, students were also able to dissect frogs in a humane and ethical way, expanding their understanding of anatomy while respecting life. Thanks to the Loudoun Pediatric Obesity Coalition and Loudoun Education
Foundation, we've added four hydroponic towers where students grow lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes, seeing firsthand how science and sustainability connect to real-world food systems. And beyond our classroom wall, students have volunteered at Fleetwood Farm Winery, helping remove spotted lanternfly eggs as part of Scrape the Grape initiative. That experience taught them that science isn't just something you learn, it's something you do to make a difference in your community. None of this happened because of one big program.
It happened because people were willing to say yes. When we say yes, we empower students to see themselves as scientists, problem-solvers, and contributors. I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Clark Sift and the Office of Sustainability. By launching the Green Team program, you haven't just handed us a checklist of eco-friendly habits. You have given us the gift of environmental literacy. You've given us the tools to investigate the challenges our planet faces, and more importantly, the agency to do something about it. Today, we celebrate that vision.
Next slide, please. Good evening. I'm Sahana Tripathi. Have you ever wondered how plants can grow without soil? This is called hydroponics. Plants grow in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. This method uses up to 90% less water than traditional gardening because the water is recycled and reused. It also saves space since plants can be grown in vertical towers, making it ideal for urban areas. Since our garden was indoors, we used grow lights instead of sunlight to help our plants thrive. Because there is no soil, there are usually fewer
pests and plant diseases, making it an efficient and environmentally friendly way to grow fresh food. As a member of the Green Team, I had the opportunity to learn hydroponics firsthand. Throughout the year, our team maintained four hydroponics towers and successfully grew five varieties of lettuce, bunching onions, cilantro, tomatoes, and peppers. We regularly checked pH levels, monitored water quality, and worked together to solve challenges when plants were not growing as expected.
The most exciting moment was harvesting the food we had grown ourselves and turning it into fresh salads and salsa. Watching tiny seeds grow into healthy plants taught me patience, responsibility, and the importance of teamwork. Being part of the Green Team showed me that even small actions can make a big difference for our environment, and it became one of the most meaningful experiences of my school year. Next slide, please. Hello, my name is Arya Gosavi, and today I'll be talking to you about Trout in the Classroom. Another major part of our journey was
raising brook trout through every stage of their life cycle, from tiny eggs to fry, and finally, fingerlings. Brook trout are the only trout species native to Virginia. They require cold, clean, oxygen-rich water. We took responsibility for caring for them by checking water conditions and making sure they stayed healthy. One of the most memorable experiences was traveling to George Washington National Forest to release our trout into a local stream with the help of Trout in the Classroom volunteers. During the trip, we conducted water quality testing, explored stream
ecosystems by collecting macroinvertebrates that trout eat in the wild, and even learned how to cast a fly fishing rod. Next slide, please. Good evening. My name is Jahitha Nanubalu . And this year, Ms. Haines' grade seven communication classes led a waste audit. When their peers arrived for lunch, they found the garbage cans had been wheeled away, sparking a little confusion and a lot of interest. Every student brought their discards to the audit station to be sorted and weighed. Student interviewers asked their peers a few simple questions to seek understanding as to why unneeded items were tossed. Ms.
Haines' students analyzed this data to tell the story of what happens to our trash when we carelessly toss it away. They discovered a substantial amount of trash could have been recovered and donated, and they developed promotional posters to encourage their peers to take only what they need and donate recoverable food. An individual can often feel disempowered when attempting to make an environmental impact. But when you appeal to the hearts and minds of middle schoolers, you find that you can indeed move mountains. Thank you. Next slide. Hi, my name's Loka Madanuru, and
our Green Team participated with the Scrape the Grape program. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive species native to Asia, first detected in the US in 2014. It causes severe damage to fruit, ornamental, and hardwood trees. Scrape for the Grape: Keep Loudoun's Vineyards Spotless campaign was established in 2024 to combat the invasive bug and protect vineyards, fruit trees, and other crops from its destructive impact. We volunteered at Fleetwood Farm Winery as part of Scrape for the
Grape. We learned how to identify nymphs, baby spotted lanternflies, as well as the egg masses, which we removed from the vines.For two hours, we worked with a partner to comb through the rows of grapevines. We scraped approximately 50 egg masses, which can hold anywhere from 30 to 40 eggs in each mass. Next slide, please. Good evening, everyone. My name is Prithika Ramakrishnan, and I am talking about Kind Frog. This year, through the Kind Science program, we were able to participate in frog dissections in an ethical way. In the US, approximately 10 million animals are used for dissection
each year. Rather than contributing to the loss of amphibians in their natural ecosystems, we used Kind Frogs, which are silicone frogs that are anatomically correct. This allowed us to learn about the frog's anatomy without taking frogs from their habitats and risking ecosystem disruptions. This lab allowed us to compare the difference between frog and human anatomy. Thank you. Next slide, please. Good evening. My name is Hasitha Kari. Being part of the Green Team was one of the most meaningful experiences of my school year. At the beginning of the year, I joined simply because I was
curious about hydroponics and wanted to spend time with friends who cared about nature like I did. However, as the year went on, the Green Team became so much more than just a class to me. Being part of the journey from planting a tiny seed to harvesting a healthy plant taught me the value of patience, dedication, and caring for the world around us. Raising brook trout from eggs to fully grown fish was an unforgettable experience because we were responsible for protecting living creatures every single day. I learned that maintaining the right water conditions and monitoring pH, ammonia,
and nitrogen levels correctly was not just a science experiment, but it was something that the plants and fish depended on to survive. One of the most emotional and memorable moments for me was traveling to the George Washington National Forest to release our trout into the stream. Seeing the trout swim away into their natural habitat made me feel proud, happy, and connected to nature in a way I had never experienced before. It reminded me that all our hard work throughout the year truly mattered and contributed to protecting the environment. Although we faced challenges like solving problems when plants were not growing
properly or balancing responsibilities as a team, those moments helped us grow stronger together. Through teamwork, communication, and perseverance, we learned how to support one another and overcome difficulties. Through teamwork, communication, and perseverance, we learned how to support one another and overcome difficulties. This experience changed the way I think about sustainability and the environment. It taught me that caring for nature is not just a responsibility, but it's a way to give back to the world that gives us so much every day. The Green Team helped me become more responsible, confident, and aware of the world
around me and inspired me to continue to help create a greener and healthier future. Your slide is perfect right where it is. Looking ahead, we hope to build on this momentum. Next year, we plan to expand our work in sustainable food systems by participating in the Growing Beyond Earth program, giving students the opportunity to conduct real research on how food can be grown in challenging environments. This program is a classroom-based citizen science program that supports NASA research on growing plants in space while inspiring the next generation of explorers.
By participating in this initiative, our students will contribute essential research to NASA specialists. This collaborative effort helps advance the critical technologies required to cultivate food sources for future deep space exploration. We also aim to deepen our community connections by finding new ways for students to volunteer and apply what they're learning beyond the classroom. Furthermore, our learners will collaborate to design an outdoor educational space by utilizing raw materials from the neighboring HS14 construction project, effectively
modeling sustainability through tangible real-world application. Most importantly, we want to empower our students, especially those on our Green Team, to help guide our sustainability efforts, giving them a voice in shaping the direction of our work and the impact that we can have together. Thank you. Questions? Thank you so much for the presentation, Principal Compton, to all of the Watson Mountain staff members, and especially to all of our Yetis who are here to share your experience with us. It is so meaningful to hear directly from you about how valuable your
learning is and how it's impacting you, and you're all amazing speakers. So thank you for being here. And with that, I will open the floor to questions. Board members? Ms. LaBelle. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, ladies, for bringing all of your exploits to us. I wanted to tell you that I was truly impressed by a lot of the work that you did, but I am so glad that you didn't have to cut open the frog. I wish I had a Kind Frog when I was in biology. So
that one got me well. So thank you so much. It was great hearing from you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I went to the Green Team summit or the Green Team event that we had here, and it was not a competition. Let me begin by saying that. But your team, and I think I mentioned this to you guys there, you definitely stood out and blew me away with all the amazing things you were doing. You even brought, for those of you who weren't here, they brought their own salad, and they had it dressed perfectly. It was delicious from the hydroponic food they grew. I've also been involved in Trout in the Classroom. I know the hike you guys did to drag those trout out past Front Royal when they
were getting ready to be released into the wild. So the work you're doing is amazing in so many areas. But I am going to digress with my colleague on the board here as a biology teacher. You got to gut the real thing. There's something to be said about cracking the bones back and pinning them down. It costs a lot of money, though Germain to this conversation- But thank you so much ... but thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Riccardi. Turn off that mic down there. No more. No more of that. I just wanted to thank you guys as well. So I started a hydroponic garden in my kitchen a couple of years ago, so I can really appreciate you guys doing that.
It is the freshness of lettuce that comes out of hydroponics is nothing that you've tasted before. It's really fantastic, so I'm glad you guys are getting that experience. I have a ton of spotted lanternflies at my house, so if anybody wants to go around and do more of that, that's a needed service. I hear a summer project coming around that. And again, I have a real connection to the NASA program, so I'm super excited to hear about the future things you all are going to do. There are so many incredibly amazing things that are getting ready to happen as we move off
of Earth and out into space, and I think that the work that you all will get to experience in growing plant life and food and sustainability in space is going to be something really amazing, and your generation is going to be able to experience that firsthand and watch that firsthand, and I think that's super exciting. So I just want to encourage you guys to continue doing what you're doing, continue with your curiosity, and thank you all for coming tonight and speaking. I think it's so much fun when we get to hear from students, so thank you all for doing that. Any other board member comments or- Hear, hear. Yep. So thank you so much. That was wonderful.
Thank you. All right. With that, we'll move on to item number 11, the superintendent's report, which will be presented tonight, of course, by Dr. Aaron Spence, our superintendent. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. It's tough to follow that, but always my pleasure to share good news from around the school division. I'd like to start this evening by talking about the Blue Ridge GLAMIES, which happened recently, celebrating an outstanding 2025/26 season on May 27th at the Hylton Performing Arts Center at George Mason University. LCPS High School has participated in the GLAMIES, helping to elevate and support student theater throughout the community.
More than 200 students selected from over 1,000 nominees were recognized for excellence in performance and technical theater. The GLAMIES, which stands for Gathering, Leading, Affirming, and Mentoring in the Arts, connects students with professional mentors while celebrating educational theater across our region. Next, Trailside Middle School was recently recognized as a model professional learning community at work by Solution Tree for its success in raising student achievement. Professional learning communities are schools and districts in which educators recognize that the key to improved student learning is continuous
and job-embedded learning for educators. The three big ideas of a professional learning community call upon educators to focus on learning, build a collaborative culture, and create a results-oriented team. Schools are recognized based on strict criteria, including demonstrating a commitment to these PLC concepts, implementing them for at least three years, and clear evidence of improved student learning over that period. Congratulations to Trailside on this achievement. Speaking of sustainability, the second annual Green Teams Gallery Walk was held on May 27th and highlighted the exciting environmentally focused work taking place across our schools. Supported by the LCPS Office of
Sustainability, the Green Teams program's designed to spark curiosity and inspire action around environmental stewardship. The goal is to help our educators weave sustainability concepts into everyday instruction, empowering students to, as you saw tonight, tackle real-world challenges and deepen student connection to the natural world. Really interesting to note that participation in the Green Team program grew significantly this year, with 60 schools involved, up from 25 in its first year. Green Teams explored everything from gardening and composting to habitat restoration and sustainable design. And we know that when students learn sustainable practices through hands-on
experience, they're building lifelong habits, strengthening their schools and their communities. I'm also pleased to note that the third annual JEDI Symposium for our Student Equity Ambassadors and Student MSAC Delegates, hosted by the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, was held on May 28th, bringing together student leaders to collaborate, share ideas, and celebrate their collective impact. These student leaders are championing belonging in their schools and communities. But the JEDI Symposium is more than just a day to uplift student voice, it's also a celebration of purpose and community. The Equity Ambassadors and MSAC Delegates are tireless advocates for their peers.
They work every day to strengthen their schools through leadership and action, and their conversations and collective efforts help make LCPS and the world a place where everyone belongs. As we say goodbye to our seniors in those roles and those stepping down, we celebrate their legacy that they're leaving behind and the foundation that they've built as we move forward. Next, the LCPS CAMPUS Program, or College Achievement and Multicultural Program for our Unique Students, celebrated 186 seniors at its annual end-of-year celebration. CAMPUS is an academic and college preparatory program designed to remove barriers
to higher education for students who will be the first in their families to attend college. More than 90% of this year's CAMPUS graduates will be attending a two-year or four-year college next fall, which really reflects the program's strong focus on college readiness and student success. I'm also pleased to share that the LCPS Special Education Advisory Council, or SEAC, recently held its annual Recognition of Excellence in Supporting Special Education Awards ceremony on Wednesday, June the 3rd at Light Ridge High School. This event honored educators, students, programs, and community members who've demonstrated exceptional dedication to the LCPS special
education community. These individuals and groups were recognized for going above and beyond in creating learning environments that are meaningfully inclusive and supportive of all learnersI also want to point out that LCPS will be providing free meals this summer for students ages 18 and younger at several locations throughout Loudoun County. LCPS provides this free service to our families through participation in the US Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service program, which is a program providing funding for free meals to children during the summer months to ensure students retain access to nutritious meals when school
is not in session. Interested families can learn more at the website shown on this slide. And then finally, this evening, LCPS is trucking into summer. At this family-friendly event to be held at Dulles Town Center on June 20th, children are invited to climb aboard the vehicles that keep our community moving. An LCPS school bus will be amongst the vehicles available for children to explore, helping new LCPS students and soon-to-be kindergartners get comfortable with their first big ride. Families will also be able to gather information about kindergarten registration for the '26, '27 school year,
and the Departments of Communication and Community Engagement, Student Services, and Transportation are collaborating on participation in this event. Madam Chair, that concludes my report. Thank you so much, Dr. Spence, and I'm delighted to see that opportunity will continue to be available for students to try out the bus. I'm happy to report that my soon-to-be senior is still friends with someone she met at that event. Sorry for that point of personal privilege. I'll move on to item number 12, which is public comment. These are our procedures for public comment.
Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process. The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted. Based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening, all speakers have been allotted two minutes each for public comment. Please also be advised that speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time. Decorum and civility. All audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the
functioning and dignity of the school board at all times. Please remain seated unless arriving, departing, speaking at the podium, or during a break. Violations of civility and decorum and respect include shouting, heckling, jeering, applause, and other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting, obscuring speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa, interrupting speakers, attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair, and approaching a speaker or otherwise attempting to intimidate, disparage, or distract a speaker, staff member,
or other meeting attendees. Speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities, defamation, profanity, and other like breaches of respect, nor may speakers target, criticize, or attack individual students and/or individual division employees during public comment. As a reminder, school board Policy 2520 states speakers may not target, criticize, or attack individual students during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official. The school board requests that comments on an individual student or
employee-related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate applicable confidentiality requirements. I do want to take a moment to clarify a few things. As has been explained previously, speakers can personally identify a student or employee without stating a student or an employee's names. That is, personally identifiable information is any information that a reasonable person can link together to pinpoint an individual student or employee, and where the individual student or employee is known to others in their school
or surrounding community based on the context that is shared. The school board welcomes you to share your concerns, but asks to the extent you have prepared remarks that target, criticize, or attack any individual students or employees, you generalize such remarks to ensure compliance with school board policy. For example, comments that target, criticize, or attack a student or an employee, or a student or an employee from a specific name school, or a student or an employee with any characteristics where the information would personally identify that student or employee to others in the school or broader LCPS community
would violate school board policy. However, comments that discuss general concerns with students or employees at schools and do not target, criticize, or attack an individual identifiable student or employee are permissible. Under school board policy, I, as the school board chair, am charged with the responsibility to maintain order during school board meetings. Accordingly, when reasonable, I will warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect and ask speakers to redirect their comments prior to possibly discontinuing individual speaking privileges
or taking other actions to preserve the civility, decorum, and orderly conduct of the meeting. Such action includes calling a recess in order to maintain or restore order. If speakers fail to comply with board policy regarding public participation, you will receive a warning and a request to redirect or generalize your comments. Should you fail to redirect or generalize your comments after the warning, you may be asked to yield the microphone, at which time you should yield the microphone as well as the floor and take your seat, and I will call the next speaker. To the extent necessary, I will also warn of breaches of
decorum, civility, and respect from attendees prior to taking other actions to preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting. Speakers should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board per Policy 2520. Members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during the public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in, on the decision of the
chair, public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for safety reasons, or public comment ending for the evening.Distribution of materials to school board members. Copies of materials for school board members should be given to the public information officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom before the start of the meeting. Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through LCPS-TV on 1070 HD and Verizon Fios
channel 43. The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments. We usually start with virtual public comment, but there are no virtual speakers signed up tonight. So we will start with our first speaker, who is Roberta Smith, and she will be followed by Taylor Satishar. Good evening. My name is Roberta Celeste Smith, and I am a descendant of the Thornton family. I would like to thank Dr. Spence and the school board members giving me the opportunity to speak.
I am currently employed at Frederick Douglass Elementary School, working in the autism program. I am speaking on behalf of the Thornton family to communicate a legacy of service, sacrifice, and commitment to education that has helped shape Loudoun County for generations. My grandfather, James Edgar Thornton, was born in 1891 in Watson, Virginia. He married Sarah Elizabeth Jackson and bore 14 children. And we have been in the county for generations. My grandfather, James Edgar Thornton, served in World War I in the
155th Depot Brigade. Although not having much formal education himself, he made sure his children, as well as other in the community, went to school, sometimes carrying them on their backs and in his arms. He was a devoted worker to his family and to his community. Over the generations, the Thornton family has made lasting contributions to Loudoun County. Family members helped to build churches which are still in operation today.
We were caterers and bakers and a lot of things in the county. Members of the Thornton families also shared in building roads, railroads, and sidewalks that connected and beautified neighborhoods throughout Loudoun County and surrounding areas. In very real ways, they helped build this community with their land, hands, and hearts. The family commitment remained consistent across generations, and it is my belief that Thornton Summit High School- Thank you. Our next speaker is Taylor Satishar, followed by Maya
Rooney. Okay. Deep breath. Sorry. The human cost of waiting. On March 31st, I submitted an exception request in good faith. LCPS confirmed it had been received. For the next month, I believed it was being reviewed. No one told me otherwise. Then after reaching out during Teacher Appreciation Week, I learned it was never being reviewed as an exception request.
Throughout this process, I've been told that my work is valued and appreciated, but after 278 days, I find myself asking what value looks like when an employee faces a serious medical condition. Since October, I followed every step available to me. Multiple healthcare providers have determined that bariatric surgery is medically necessary to address spinal disease, chronic pain, sleep apnea, and worsening neurological symptoms. This is simply not about weight, it's about access to medically necessary care.
Instead, despite documented medical necessity, my options remain the same: pay approximately 20,000 out of pocket, or find different insurance, or continue waiting while my condition worsens. For 278 days, I have publicly discussed private medical information because I've been trying to find a path to care. I want my health back. I want to focus my energy on my students instead of fighting for healthcare. For the last 278 days, my symptoms have worsened, and my MRI
shows progression. If this much can change in 278 days, what will the next 278 days look like without access to medically necessary care recommended by my providers? I'm asking for compassion, transparency, meaningful human review, and approval. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Maya Rooney, followed by Kayden Rooney. Good evening, school board members. My name is Maya Roney. I am a seventh grader at Willard Middle School.
I'm here to support naming the new high school Thornton Summit. My third great-grandmother was Eunice Thornton. As someone who was adopted, finding connections to my family and community has been important to me. A few years ago, when I was involved in cheer, I began researching my family history and discovered that I am related to my cheer coach, Cassie, and her mom, Ms. Erica. Through the Thornton family, finding the connections made me feel more connected to my family and my community. As a student who could potentially be zoned for this new high school, it would be an honor to attend a school that reflects a part of my family history,
while also preserving an important part of piece of Loudoun County heritage for future generations. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Caden Roney, followed by Ilaria Kapoor. Good evening, school board members. My name is Caden Roney. I'm a seventh-grade student at Willard Middle School. I'm here to support naming the new high school Thornton Summit. At the end of fifth grade, while learning about my family history, I discovered that I am related to Ms. Berta, a teaching assistant who had a positive impact on me at school through the Thornton family.
That connection meant a lot to me. As someone who was adopted, finding meaningful family connections has been important. It can be difficult not knowing where you come from. Discovering ties to people and places in Loudoun County has helped me feel more connected to the community I call home. As a student who could potentially be zoned for this new high school, it would be an honor to attend a school that reflects part of my family's history. Thank you all for your time and consideration. Thank you. Ilaria Kapoor, followed by Srihan Srihani Kunsam.
Good afternoon. My name is Ilaria Kapoor, and I come to you with one proposal. I've wished for Lightridge High School to have its own veterans' memorial board. This project started not just because of my own interest in supporting the veterans within our community, but through actually realizing our school's Purple Star status and hoping to maintain that status for the future generations. This project would be simple, and all I ask is for your support, whether it be for approval, financial support, or the creation of the board physically. The board is supposed to represent our community, not just through the
representation of veterans within Lightridge, but also extended members in the community, such as active teachers and veterans. This board can also encourage LCPS students, not just within Lightridge, but to actually take initiative in community projects and give back to the community in ways they may not have realized. When I first started this project, I did not even know where this was going to go. I had no realization that I would be standing here today with a poster board, stating all the information I had gathered and worked with, with different officials at my school, such as my principal and
the MakerSpace creator. It was one of the most key things within my academic career, and I hope that you will also see the support, the recognition, and the impact this board could have installing a memorial board for the Lightridge community. Thank you. Thank you. Srihan Srihani Kunsam, followed by Taryn Portillo. Hello. My name is Srihan. I'm here to support my friend, Enzo. He's being rezoned to John Champ next year, and he wants to get an exemption to stay at Lightridge. Enzo's a big part of
my life at Lightridge. He's a great friend to me, and he's a great person, and I just want him to stay with us at Lightridge. Thank you for your time. Yeah. Thank you. Taryn Portillo, followed by David Reese. David Reese, followed by Chris Countryman. Good evening. Thank you, Srihan. Enzo is my son. Enzo Reese. I'm David Reese. He has been rezoned to Champ High School. He is currently a sophomore at Lightridge High School. We've pursued the formal appeal process without success so far,
so I'm here as a last-ditch effort to try to see if there's any way that I can get him to be exempt from the rezoning. For Enzo, staying at Lightridge is not only a matter of preference, it's about educational continuity. Enzo was homeschooled from kindergarten through eighth grade. Lightridge was his first experience with public school. And after nine years of homeschooling, the stability, and the staff, the community, his friends at Lightridge are the foundation of what he knows about public school. So I feel that uprooting him now in his high school career
provides a significant obstacle to his academic success and his wellbeing. And my primary concern is that a mid-career disruption will undo the progress socially, educationally, that he's made so far. While I fully understand and respect the necessity of rezoning, the personal impact inside our home is very real. As you can imagine, if you went to high school for two years and at the end of your second year they tell you that you're going to be going to another high school, how that would've affected you. I think it's easy to understand. And I would just ask that you look at the unique circumstances of
Enzo's background and consider any possible avenue or exception that would allow him to remain a Light Ridge Bolt. Thank you. Thank you. Chris Countryman, followed by Pamela Brown. Good evening. I'd like to address several unresolved issues that require action as we approach the end of the school year. First, our substitute drivers need answers. They are currently making decisions about next year and need to know whether they should continue taking on additional responsibilities or return to covering only regular routes. These employees have stepped up repeatedly to help the division meet transportation needs.
It's time for LCPS to step up as well and recognize the value of these positions, just as neighboring school divisions have already done. Second, our communication technicians are still waiting for the correction of their classification. This impacts two technicians. These employees deserve a timely response and fair treatment. Last, I was notified of additional job titles LCPS intends to remove from the bargaining units. To be clear, these are additional positions beyond the ones we were already notified of in September. While I appreciate the notification, I truly do, but the strength of our
workforce depends on protecting employee representation and ensuring that positions are not unnecessarily removed outside of the bargaining process. I'd also like to speak about the recent calendar survey. More than one-third of respondents reported working a second job. That would be three of you if we use similar data. Employees clearly told us they want a shorter school year and shared quality data on workdays at the beginning and end of the year, as well as between quarters. Please reduce the number of holidays built into the calendar to achieve that. And let me be very clear, this is not about disrespecting or
marginalizing any holiday or the people who observe them. It is about giving employees and families the freedom to make the choices that work best for them. For far too many employees, summer employment is a necessity to supplement their school income, and every additional day matters. Finally, the survey delivered a clear message regarding workdays. Thank you. Pamela Brown, followed by Enzo Reece. Good evening. My name is Pamela Brown. I am the descendant of Rosetta Bush, Thornton Bush, who is my
grandmother. She's sitting back over there, 96 years old. She's one of two living descendants of Michael and Sarah Jackson. She was one of 14 children. We also have my great aunt, Sarah Thornton Brooks, 101 years old, who is also living. She couldn't be here tonight, but I am here to support the naming of the new HS14 high school in Loudoun County as Thornton Summit. As you've heard from other family
members, the Thornton family has contributed so many things in Loudoun County throughout the years. I was born in Loudoun County. I'm a former resident of Loudoun County, and I come to you all the way from Maryland as a former resident and student. I was schooled in Loudoun County in the sixth grade and the tenth grade, and I lived in Loudoun County after I graduated James Madison University, and then also purchased a home down the street in Ashburn. So I really believe that Thornton
Summit represents the roots of the community. Our home church, First Baptist Church, Watson, was a schoolhouse, and it served also as a church growing up in the segregated society. And then within the Watson community, the Thornton family contributed so many things to building that community, and they are at the root of that community. So I believe that it's a strong name that could represent the community as a whole, and this new school
should represent the people of the community and the contributions of those that helped build that community. Thank you. Enzo Reece, followed by Ethan Berlin. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Enzo Reece. I'm a rising junior currently attending White Ridge High School. And due to the recent redistricting, I am scheduled to transfer to John Champ this fall. I'm speaking tonight to respectfully request an exemption to remain at Light Ridge. Last winter, the rezoning opt-out surveys were routed to my mother's junk email folder, and because of this miscommunication, we missed the 10-day window to appeal,
and our subsequent special permissions request was denied. I want to share how this decision impacts my mental wellbeing and academic stabilityI was homeschooled before coming to Lightridge, and transitioning to a traditional high school environment was an incredibly difficult and isolating period of time for me. I struggled significantly to adapt to the schedule and form connections. However, over my time here, Lightridge provided me with a strong, supportive community. I now serve as a teacher's assistant for the Lightridge Makerspace, where I 3D print, program, and help other students, which is a resource that
John Champ doesn't offer. I also earned a spot on our Super Smash Brothers esports team alongside three of my closest friends, and I'm even a candidate for the team captain next year. Transferring schools for the second time in two years would break all of the relationships with the teachers, counselors, and students that I've worked hard to establish. Mentally, it would undo the progress I have made and leave me struggling to maintain academic motivation. I understand the district has a strict process for rezoning. I'm simply asking you to consider the personal, emotional impact of this decision, and allow me to stay at the school where I've finally found a place to
succeed. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Ethan Berlin, followed by Faith Helm. Hello, members of the school board. My name is Ethan Berlin, and I am here to support Enzo Reese staying at Lightridge. When I came to Lightridge as a freshman, I had a lot of trouble making new friends since I switched from a private school to a public school. Enzo is switching junior year, which means all the friends that he made will basically be torn away, and he will have to make new friends at his new school. This, on top of the stress that normally comes with junior year as a high school student and all the difficult classes and preparation for college
that you have to take, can lead to problems such as anxiety and depression building up. This is very bad for a teen, as stuff that happens now can affect them the rest of their lives. And also, Enzo has a lot of friends at Lightridge that really care about him, and we wish for him to stay. So hopefully, you allow him to remain with us. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Faith Helm, followed by Rosetta Bush. Hello. I'm Faith Helm. I am the granddaughter of Rosetta Thornton Bush, also a resident of Loudoun County. I think high school 14 should consider Thornton Summit High
School as a basis for the new high school name. I believe Thornton Summit for all the reasons you would think: community, learning, enriched in just love, that my grandmother has been here for 96 years. My Aunt Anne has been here for 101 years. And the stories and histories that they have told me about Loudoun County has been very important and very enriched of just what they endured to get to know and have education. And I think it would be very important to consider having Thornton Summit High School as the number 14 high
school in Loudoun County, just because of all that they have seen and them having to be in Douglas High School as well, some of them to being the first to go to that high school. But I would really hope that you guys can take into consideration of high school 14 being named Thornton Summit. Thank you. Thank you. Rosetta Bush, followed by Lily Jeffries. Let me lock it. Go ahead. All right. There you go. One, two, three, lift up. Head up. Head up. Thank you. Okay. You're good. Good evening, everyone. I am Rosetta Bush.
I live in Watson Mountain. Out here it's called Watson, but we are addressed from Leesburg, Virginia. And I came to say we would be honored to have the school name in Loudoun County the high school, the Thornton Summit, whichever one you decide, put Thornton in it. And I'm 96 years old, and I've been to Loudoun County with many of the community things that we've attended, and during the high school years, I had
to go to high school in DC because there wasn't a high school around when I graduated from seventh grade out here at Watson, part of Watson's Church. But I enjoyed going to school, and I loved going to school. But I would like to have something in Loudoun County, if no more than have part of Thornton or something of Thornton. My mother's name was Sarah Thornton, and my father was Michael Thornton, and they had 14 children, and they sent every one of them to school through seventh grade. That is as far as the school went, and that
was in Loudoun County. And I was happy that I went to Washington for two years and graduated from Charles Junior High School there, because there was no high school in Loudoun County for N***o children. But we are thankful that I'm here today, 96 years old. Personally, I'm hoping that we would do something in honor of our Thornton name, because there's only two of us left, and from a family of 14But we are glad to be here. I'm up in age right now, 96, and a little wobbly, but
I'm pushing on. Pushing on. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Lily Jeffries, followed by Sarah Boyd. This way. There you go. There you go. Feet up. There you go. All right. Good evening. My name is Lily Jeffries, and I am the daughter of Viola Thornton Jeffries, who is no longer with us this present time. Basically, I'm here to support the Thornton Summit High School name for our new high school that's coming in the Watson Mountain area. Pretty much, I was born and raised here in Leesburg.
I attended elementary school, middle school, and Loudoun County High School, where I graduated in 1984. Before I even came along, many of my family members were very instrumental in the community, trying to get education for the Black African-American families here. We were very instrumental in the creating and helping to build and develop the Black high school in Leesburg called Douglas High School. We played a big factor in that. I'm here to say that my family has been very active in the community.
We are still active in the community. We will continue to be active in the community. We just recently, about three years ago, because we've been living in Watson Mountain for very many years, we finally got our name of our street or road that we reside on by the county, and the county has blessed our family with that. Again, we continue to work hard at what we do. Education has always been a big factor in our family. And I pray that as you go through and review all of the information, that you will really consider Thornton family, how important it
is in the community, and that we will continue as a family to continue to help and support, be a part of the school. We're very educated in our family. Many of us before us didn't get a chance to go, but starting from my generation and going forward, many of us had the opportunity to go to school. So we want to continue to carry that legacy throughout the rest of our- Thank you. Sarah Boyd, followed by Vishnu Kandi. I'm Sarah Boyd. I've got a kindergartner at Hillside, and I watched the spirited debate on dress code last
meeting, and so I thought I'd bring some examples of clothes that my kindergartner has worn this year that no longer meet dress code. This is a C romper that she wears. She lives in the summer in C rompers. 40% of her current wardrobe, her summer wardrobe, does not meet the dress code policy. This romper on a kindergartner, she's worn it to school. Her puppy dog romper. This looks fine for a kindergartner to wear to school, except the back has a cross back and so you are not allowed to show the middle part of your back.
Disney Princess dress. You would think this would be fine for a kindergartner to wear to school. But no, it also has a cross back, and so she cannot wear this dress to school either. She wore this T-shirt to play Flopsy the Bunny in the school play this year. She had a growth spurt right before then, and so when she put this shirt on and she raised her hands up in the play, her midriff showed. I know, Ms. Chernoff, you submitted a amendment that's against pajamas, and so I would just ask the board to tell me which one of
these is pajamas and which one of these is clothes. If you can't tell, how is an administrator going to tell? I just ask you to reconsider this and come up with a better plan that keeps our kids learning versus being pulled out of class for dress code violations. Thank you. Thank you. Vishnu Kandi, followed by Suzanne Satterfield. Hi. Good evening. I'm here tonight to oppose the proposal for allowing power lines in our school property. When I look at our schools, I see safe havens for our children,
and not easements for utility infrastructure. Our absolute priority must be to provide student safety. Introducing high voltage power lines to areas where children walk to school, play, or learn creates profound personal hazards or physical hazards. From the immediate dangers of downed power lines to heavy construction equipment required for installation and ongoing maintenance, we are inviting severe risks into an environment that is supposed to be entirely
secure.Beyond the immediate safety concerns, we must also consider the dangerous precedent this sets. If we agree to sacrifice the sanctity of our school grounds for utility projects today, what compromises will we be asked to make tomorrow? Our school properties are finite and precious. Once we allow an industrial infrastructure footprint, we permanently surrender land that should be dedicated to recess, athletics, or outdoor learning. Finally, there is the unavoidable issue of disruption.
The constant low-level hum of transmission lines creates an environment that distracts from our core mission of education. We invest heavily in creating optimal learning processes and spaces. Threading power lines through these campuses directly undermines that investment. Thank you. Suzanne Satterfield, followed by Andrea Weiskopf. The chief of half-truths wrote a letter to
LCPS parents that he will be testifying in front of the US House Committee on Education and Workforce, and that he looks forward to telling them what an extraordinary environment he's helped build at LCPS. What he failed to tell them is he was subpoenaed, and that the subject is breaking trust, attacks on parental rights, inappropriate content, and legal abuses in America's schools. "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" is not only the name of a movie, but could very well be the motto for
LCPS. It's practically criminal that you contribute to this by allowing DEI practices to blur reality and judgment while continuing to employ a superintendent whose staff refuses to carry out their duty as mandatory reporters and has retaliated against victims while being lenient on their abusers. You have all failed these kids. You make the victims feel as if it's their fault that they were abused by handing out unjust punishments of maximum suspensions and being kept from walking at graduation.
Transparency and trust are just words that you throw around as endless closed meetings continue. Just like last night, where Spence's performance was to be discussed. It should be no secret who attended, how you voted, or what the financial outcome was for taxpayers. You were not elected to play politics with children's lives. You were elected to put policies in place that help students succeed academically in a safe environment and to hold the superintendent accountable when he fails to do his job. You are not performing your duties that you were sworn in to
uphold and to exercise your authority to rein him in. You are just a rubber stamp to his whims and failures. Some staff members may not like what's happening to students, but sadly, their paychecks take priority over student safety. Money is wasted daily on non-essential jobs and programs, and tonight you dare to ask for 90- Thank you. Andrea Weiskopf will be our final speaker this evening. In the Megillah, or the Book of Esther, chapter four, Esther is afraid to confront the king, and her uncle tells her,
"In the end, salvation will come for your people somehow. But how do you not know that you were put in the kingdom for such a time as this?" Superintendent Spence, public education will survive. We will get our LGBTQ kids. We'll manage to keep them safe somehow. But perhaps you were brought here for such a time as this. Testifying is, yes, you are likely to be skewered, even more than you are here, and I am no
LCPS or Aaron Spence apologist. But our children and our schools need an advocate, an advocate who will not back down and who remembers that we are all here for such a time as this, and we don't get to choose that time. We need to recognize it. We need to make sure that we stand for children, for their education, for their well-being. And this is that time. Please protect our trans children. Thank you. That concludes public comment for this evening.
Thank you all for coming out today and for providing us with your comments. With that, the board will take a short recess, and we will reconvene at 8:16. No, no. Let's go. Is Ross not here?
Ross is there. Oh, there he is. He's behind. Okay. Let's just remember to vote for Ross. Okay. I'm trying. Vote for Ross. I've changed up my whole scenario here. All right, everybody. Thank you so much. We are going to move on to our action items. First up is 13.01, Finance and Operations Committee, Loudoun County School Board to request financing for approved CIP projects not to exceed $91,160,000 for school purposes. This will be presented by Mrs. Griffiths. Mrs. Griffiths, do you have a motion?
Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the school board approve financing for the approved CIP projects not to exceed the $91,160,000 for school purposes. Do you need me to go on? Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Would you like to speak to the motion? Sure. Oh, wait. I'm sorry. Did I hear a second- Second ... from Mr. Pepper? Thank you. Now? Yes, please. Thank you. This is for the board of supervisors to request from the circuit court to order a special election to issue general obligation bonds of the county or to apply for Virginia Public School Authority financing not to exceed $91,160,000 in general obligation bonds
for school purposes. It would be productive learning environments designed to support high-quality instruction for all. The design, construction, and equipping of projects are to be included in the school board-adopted FY 2027 capital improvement program and county FY 2027 adopted budget. I'm hoping the school board determines that it's necessary to finance the following. Hold on. LCPS capital renewal and alterations, that would be $72,150,000, and
the View Transition Academy, $19,010,000. The Loudoun County public school finance staff will work with the Loudoun County finance staff and bond council to present a resolution in accordance with the Section 15.2-2640 of the Code of Virginia 1950 as amended for the Loudoun County School Board to request financing for approved CIP projects. The resolution requests the board of supervisors to finance the approved projects through a request to the circuit court for a special election bond
referendum, which would take place in November. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths, for the sake of clarity, could I please ask you to read the entire motion as it is listed in the agenda under recommendations, and then please to read the November 2026 bond referendum school board resolution that's attached. And so we'll actually redo the whole mechanism of the motion. Oh, okay. Please. Okay, so you want me to start from the top? Yeah. Let's start with the motion. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm getting clarification in real time. So good news, you don't have to read the whole resolution.
Oh, okay. Just the language after the... So read the recommendation. Recommendation. Okay, hold on. And then... All right, let me just... Okay. So, the recommendation is that the Loudoun County School Board approve the attached resolution requesting funding for school purposes. And I do have an attached document, but I don't know if you want me to go into the bond referendum itself. So then Mrs. Griffiths has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. Okay. You spoke to the motion. Thank you so much.
And now I will ask, is there any discussion? Mr. Pepper. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to clarify a few things. This is not a special election. It is a resolution that is going on the general election in November, so it's just a bond referendum. We do have to pass this tonight, though in order to get it on. Okay. For the sake of clarity, would just like to hear from staff if there's anything else that needs to be read in relation to this item. Sorry. I'm sorry. Could you restate the question? Is there anything else from the agenda that needs to explicitly be read before we can move into our discussion? No. Thank you so much. Okay. School board members, is there any discussion?
Oh, yes, Ms. McHardie? Way down here on the end. Thank you so much. I feel alone now that Ross isn't here tonight. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I just had a quick question. I just want to make sure we're clear on this. And this is a question for staff, and I want to make sure I understood it from the F&O committee meeting. So the View Transition Academy is $19 million of this referendum. I believe we discussed that we're going to eventually need to make another supplemental request because the budget for this is going to go over the $19 million. Is that correct? And do we have any idea how much?
Thank you, Ms. McCarty. I'll take that. So as Mr. Pascrelli mentioned earlier this evening, we are still working through the design of that project. And so after we get through that concept design, we'll establish the budget for that, and then we would come back to the board for a recommendation on how to manage that. This, again, is just for the bond referendum for this November, so that does not limit us on how we can move forward and have an alternate plan for financing for that project. Okay, so we can get started with the $19 million, but we're going to need some amount of money above that, but we're not sure what that is.
Yes, ma'am, because the design is at the first year is for design purposes. So we have plenty for that. Okay. But that doesn't include the whole-- The design is not the whole $19 million, correct? No. The design is for the original estimate for that before we purchased the building and had the concept design done. So that includes some construction money, but also will cover all the design and some portion of the construction. Okay, great. Do we even have a ballpark? Number one, and number two, would that come out of CIP budget for a build? We don't have a ballpark at this point. There are a number of ways that could
be done. As we start to assemble the FY28 budget, we'll see where the cost estimates for all the projects come in to see if there's any room for that. We also have contingencies that we can talk through and request from the board of supervisors. So there are a number of ways that we can work through and address that budget. And do you know about the timeline for when we would need to make that request? Would it be in the spring? No, it would be this fall as we- Okay ... develop the CIP. Okay, great. Thank you so much. Yes. Mrs. Griffith. Also, there was discussion in the Finance and Operations Committee that this bond referendum have a breakdown as to the costs and what everything is.
If you could, Mr. Lewis, again, just repeat for the public what you told me, that we might not have that when we do the bond referendum. It might not be broken down. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. So as the item states, the board of supervisors and their finance staff develop how they want to develop a plan for financing our projects. So the school board adopts the CIP and then asks the supervisors to provide the funding for that. So some of their funding could come from cash, some of it could come from geo bonds. There's an option there for VPSA funding, which I don't think they use
very often. As the county staff develops that plan, then they will put together that, and then later this year, and I'm not sure exactly the timeline, the bond language itself that'll go in the question actually comes out and is developed between the county staff, and then we look at that as well. And they will also determine how they break that down and how it's set up. And the board would see that language too when it comes through. Thank you. Board members, any further discussion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote.
That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present voting yes and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will continue on with item 13.02, legislative and policy. That's a tricky one for me since it was different when I was the chair of that committee. Sorry. Revised Policy 2350, Appeal of Administrative Decisions, presented by Mr. Svendsen. Mr. Svendsen, do you have a motion? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the proposed changes to Policy 2350. Thank you, Mr. Svendsen. Would you like to speak further to your-- Oh, actually,
Mr. Svendsen has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. Dr. Rashid has seconded the motion. Mr. Svendsen, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes. So as we discussed last time, the revisions include clarification regarding appeals of administrative decisions when they're permitted, and some other clarifications around timelines and what constitutes final decisions on appeals. I also, at this time, if I may, Madam Chair, would like to introduce an amendment. So I move that to insert an additional cross-reference to C2350,
specifically a cross-reference on Policy 8160, Exception to School Assignment Due to Attendance Zone Change at lines 70 to 75 of the red line version for Policy 2350. Thank you, Mr. Svendsen. Mr. Svendsen has made a motion to insert an additional cross-reference, specifically Policy 8160, Exception to School Assignment Due to Attendance Zone Change, at lines 70 through 75 of the red line version for Policy 2350. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. It has been properly moved and seconded. Mr.
Svendsen, would you like to speak further to your amendment? This adds a cross-reference to a policy that is implicated by 2350. So we're just doing this to ensure that we're capturing all the relevant cross-references in policy so folks who are reading it can go to the other relevant policies. Thank you, Mr. Svendsen. Is there any further discussion on Mr. Svendsen's amendment? All right. Seeing no further discussion, we will move forward with the vote. The amendment is to insert an additional
cross-reference, specifically Policy 8160, Exception to School Assignment Due to Attendance Zone Change at lines 70 through 75 of the red line version for Policy 2350And then I see the board members have moved forward with the vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. All right. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we return to the base motion. Is there any further discussion on the base motion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the base.
We will move forward to vote on the base motion as amended. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. All right. That passes with all eight school board members present for the vote and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. And with that, we will move on to item 1303, legislative and policy committee, revised policy 3040, school building administration. Mr. Svendsen, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair, I do. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the proposed changes to policy
Thank you. Mr. Svendsen has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. The motion is seconded by Ms. Chernov. Mr. Svendsen, would you like to speak to your motion? Sure. So as discussed last time, this language reflects Virginia Code and the VSBA model policy, and there's an elimination of a reference to charter school, and charter school administrator because that's not how it works. So, that's just bringing it up to the VSBA model policy and code, and that's where the language for most of this policy came from. Thank you, Mr. Svendsen. And now I'll open the floor to discussion.
Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I would like to make an amendment to this policy. May I? Yes, please. Okay. I move that we add, prior to the beginning of the policy, a pair of sentences that state, "Pursuant to Virginia Law Section 22.1-293, the Loudoun County School Board is authorized to employ principals and assistant principals to serve as school building administrators. This policy sets forth the requirements, powers, and duties of these school administrators." Thank you. Mr. Pepper has made an amendment to add, "Prior to the
beginning of the policy as written, pursuant to Virginia Law Section 22.1 through 293, the Loudoun County School Board is authorized to employ principals and assistant principals to serve as school building administrators. This policy sets forth the requirements, powers, and duties of those school administrators." Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. Mr. Pepper, would you like to speak to your amendment? Briefly, Madam Chair. So this really stemmed from our discussion that we had on this as an information item last week. There was a lot of questions as to what the meaning of this policy was or why we're doing this policy. It seemed like a vague and unusual policy to talk about the duties of a
principal, so I think that just this clarifying piece that we're doing this because it's stated forth Virginia law. This amendment actually does nothing to change the meat of the policy whatsoever. It's just more clarification as to what the purpose of the policy is. And much like other policies that we have, usually the beginning of that policy is some sort of statement of purpose or clarity, and I feel like this highlights that. Thank you. I'll open the floor to discussion. Board members, do you have any discussion on the amendment? All right. Seeing no discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Clerk, please close-- Oh, excuse me. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote.
Yes. Thank you. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with all eight school board members voting yes and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will return to the base motion as amended. Madam Chair. Yes, Mr. Pepper? I have a second amendment. Oh, thank you. Please go ahead. Okay. Sorry, we have to do these one at a time. I move that on line 10 of the red line version, after the word superintendent, we add the following sentence: "A principal is authorized to direct the work of the assistant principals and other supervisory personnel under their supervision." All right. Mr. Pepper has made an amendment to add on line
10 of the red line version, after the word superintendent, the following sentence: "A principal is authorized to direct the work of the assistant principals and other supervisory personnel under their supervision." Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. Mr. Pepper, would you like to speak to your amendment? Yes, Madam Chair. So once again, stemming from our discussion last week, I did talk, Ms. Boland graciously shared with us that there are job descriptions for assistant principals and all, basically every employee in the division has a job description. This policy does enumerate the duties of the principal themselves. And it also goes briefly into the role of assistant principal and
supervisory personnel, and their job in participating in the evaluation, documentation of employee performance, but really doesn't state other things that they do. Because this policy itself was really just enumerating the duties of the principal, this clarifying sentence makes it a little easier to understand why assistant principals and supervisory personnel are mentioned later on in the policy, just clarifying that really their role is set forth by the principal who is the lead administrator of that building. Thank you. Board members, is there any discussion on Mr. Pepper's amendment? All right. Seeing no discussion, we'll move forward with the vote on the amendment.
Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the voteThat amendment passes unanimously with all eight school board members voting yes and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will return to the base motion as amended. Is there any further discussion? All right, seeing none, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svenson, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote.
And that motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will move on to our next item, which is 13.04, Student Behavior and Accountability Committee, Review Policy 8265, Student Searches Involving Students and Seizure of Contraband. Ms. Labelle, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that we approve the motion on... I haven't got my glasses on. Here we go. Okay. On 8265, Searches Involving
Students and Seizure of Contraband. Ms. Labelle, could I please ask you to read that motion from the beginning under the recommendations? Okay. All righty. Is it- I moved that the- Okay. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve Policy 8265, Student Searches Involving Students and Seizure of Contraband. Thank you kindly. Ms.- Thank you ... Labelle has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. I'm sorry? Second. Oh, thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Mrs. Griffiths has seconded the motion. Ms. Labelle, would you like to speak to your motion?
Actually, I'd like to ask Ms. Scanlon if she would speak to that. She's here today. Yeah, hey. Thank you. I would be happy to. As I said when we met two weeks ago, that primarily the revisions to this policy were made simply to improve clarity and to reduce redundancy. There was some information that was removed from the policy or significantly condensed because it was better suited to training. There was additional information that was simply moved to the regulation. And for those reasons, we believe this is a
more coherent and straightforward policy. Thank you. Thank you. Board members, is there any discussion? Mrs. Griffiths? Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm not sure if it's this policy or maybe you can point me to another one. I'm looking for an explanation on K-9 searches in contraband. We ask the students to leave their backpacks where they could have contraband in their backpacks. We tell them they can bring them with them inside a classroom when we're doing a K-9 search. I was told we can't have them leave the backpacks on the outside of the classroom when there's a K-9
search. Does 8265 have anything to do with that issue for search? It does not. The portion relevant to K-9 searches simply states that K-9s shall not search students, and that authorized trainers will be accompanying the K-9s. It also speaks to what occurs when a K-9 does alert on a storage space or a vehicle. So basically, it has nothing to do with this particular policy, what I'm
asking about as far as students leaving their backpacks outside the room during the searches. That's a totally different thing. Do you know what that policy is? I presume that that is a practice rather than a policy, and I would defer to those who are more familiar with specific practices surrounding K-9 searches to discuss that. Maybe Mr. Allen can speak to it. I can answer that, Mrs. Griffiths. So when we have the K-9 searches, we do not ask students to leave their backpacks outside of the classroom if they have
them. The backpacks remain with the students, and the K-9s do not search the backpacks or the students. Okay. I was actually hoping I'd get more clarity so we can have them leave the backpacks outside the classroom during K-9 searches. The reason why I'm asking is because this particular policy talks about contraband, which they could possibly have in their backpacks and bring into classrooms. So during a K-9 search, I was curious to know if we could leave them on the outside of the classrooms, if that makes sense. So in previous conversations when that has come up,
it can create some problems logistically in terms of students leaving them out, who the backpacks belong to. Something students could say if something was in there, they didn't put it in there. There are just all types of things that we discussed previously, and in agreement with our partnership with LCSO, we agreed that we would not... have that done. They would continue to search the common areas such as restrooms and lockers, but not anything personal property of students. I think
we should have further discussion on that because we're coming up with nothing on the K-9 searches. I don't know of anything being found, any contraband, because the students are told to stay in the classroom with their property, with their bags. So I think we need to have more discussion on that, and if it's not this policy, we'll have to have further discussion. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Ricardi? Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess my question as a little bit of a follow-up to that is just, so we've got this policy, is there a regulation that goes
along with this that I've missed in the how-to and how we conduct these things? Or is that considered a security issue and we don't make that information public? I'm super cautious about making sure we don't do that. Got the message on that last time. So, okay. So I guess the other part of that question then too is, with the MOU negotiations that are happening with the sheriff's office right now, is that issue a part of that contract and that negotiation at all or not? You're asking specifically about the K-9 searches?
Yes, ma'am. Yes. It's in the contract negotiation piece? It is part of- Of the MOU, yeah ... it is part of the discussion with the MOU. Okay. Thank you. Board members, any further discussion? All right. Seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Board clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svenson, please state your vote. Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously with all eight school board members present, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will move on to item 13.05, Student Behavior and Accountability Committee.
Review Policy 8270, Student Dress Code. Ms. LaBelle, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve Policy 8270, Student Dress Code. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle has made a motion. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. Ms. LaBelle, would you like to speak further to your motion? Yes, I would. There are a few things there that have caused people to want amendments made, and I would like to make one myself when the time comes. All right. Well, thank you so much. Let's open the floor to discussion.
Board members? Do you want to go? Ms. LaBelle, would you like to start? I can do that. Just a second here. I would like to strike lines 30 and 31 in the clean copy where it says, "Feature a neckline that does not extend below the imaginary horizontal line connecting the underarms," and replace it with, "Feature a neckline that does not extend below mid-sternum." Thank you. Ms. LaBelle has made a- 30 and 31 ... motion. Ms. LaBelle has made an amendment. Is there a second to Ms. LaBelle? Second.
Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Ms. LaBelle, would you like to speak to your amendment? Thank you. I feel that having an imaginary line leaves much to imagination. I think we need to be more specific, and if I'm not allowed to say a certain word there, then I will go with the bone structure below that place, which is the sternum, and that's why I chose a neckline that does not extend below mid-sternum. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle.
It's right about here. I see you, Ms. Chernov. Sorry. Yeah, I saw that. Okay. So is there any further discussion on Ms. LaBelle's amendment, board members? Yes, Dr. Rashid? Thank you, Chair. I just wanted for the record to say I won't be supporting any changes to the clean copy. I am in complete support of the clean copy of the policy. I do not wish to change anything about it. We heard from a public commenter, Ms. Sarah Boyd as well, who stated quite comprehensively how this original policy is quite important
to honor. So I will not be supporting this tonight, and I just wanted to let you guys know. Thanks. Thank you. Mr.- Madam Chair. Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I'm going to go with Mr. Pepper first and then Mr. Svenson. I would've yielded my time to Mr. Svenson, but it's okay. Thank you, Madam Chair. I do actually agree with Ms. LaBelle's amendment here. I don't know what an underarm is, right? Is this the underarm to my elbow? Is the underarm at my armpit? Where are we talking here? The middle of the sternum is an actual reference point. I don't think it changes the intent
of A1A.In any way, shape, or form. I think it is to, as you don't want to say, prevent the exposure of cleavage. No, you said it. But at the same time, I'm also conflicted, much like Dr. Rashid here. I really cannot support any policy that could even be construed in any way, shape, or form as some sort of body shaming or singling out an individual just because their body is different. And maybe this is a bigger issue, but this idea of dress code, it punishes some students for just having different bodies,
and that is my concern. So as we go through these, I'm trying to give consideration to that while also giving into consideration to eliminate some of the vagaries to make things a little bit easier on some of our administrators. Thank you. Mr. Svendsen? Thank you, Madam Chair. I would just say on underarm, underarm is synonymous with armpit, and I think the language in the revised policy works because that's a visual cue that folks can look at, the armpit, the underarm. I understand the reference to sternum, but I just don't think
that's something that can be enforced. So I think I will be supporting keeping the revised policy as is. And I would also say that it's something that other school divisions in Virginia have in their policy, Roanoke County, for instance. So it's something that has worked in other divisions. I know the word imaginary is a bit odd to have in policy, but it's just the horizontal line, underarm to underarm. Thank you. Any further discussion on Ms. Labelle's amendment? All right, seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the vote.
Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. No. Clerk, please close and display the vote. All right. That motion passes with five board members voting yes, including Ms. Ricardi, Ms. Chernov, Mrs. Griffiths, Mr. Pepper, and Ms. Labelle, and three school board members voting no, including Mr. Svendsen, myself, and Dr. Rashid, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. So we will go back to the motion as amended. Is there any further discussion? Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I too have an amendment. From the red line, 221 to 223,
B, helmets or headgear that obscure the face except when worn for religious, cultural, ethnic, or documented medical or disability-related reasons. I would like to amend it to read as follows, "Helmets or headgear that obscure the face except when worn for documented medical or disability reasons." Thank you. Thank you. Mrs. Griffiths has made an amendment. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. Mrs. Griffiths, would you like to speak further to your amendment? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. The rationale is no
student should wear anything that obscures or covers their face unless it is clear and documented as a medical or disability reason. Anything that obscures the face can affect learning and engagement. And with that, I would like to mention that during COVID, we had special ed students that had to wear masks, and sometimes depending on what their issue was, the teachers were not able to
articulate for the special ed students. So they could not learn and didn't have the proper engagement while wearing masks. That goes for the teacher and for the student. So that's why I put this forward. Thank you. Thank you. Board members, is there any discussion? Yes, Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have a question for staff on this one. If we remove the religious exemption, is that putting us in any kind of legal risk? Kind of feels like it would, so I just want to get clarification. Thank you, Ms. Ricardi. I appreciate the question. I think this would need further assessment.
From a legal lens, there could be some concerns as to whether such an amendment would face constitutional challenges vis-à-vis the free exercise of religion or free speech, or claims under the Virginia Human Rights Act or the Virginia Acts for Religious Freedom. So if the board does have a will for this, I think we'd need to take a closer look. Thank you so much. All right. Any further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, Mrs. Griffiths has made an amendment at lines 221 to 223 in the red line version to strike the terms religious,
cultural, ethnic, or, so that the section would read, "B, helmets or headgear that obscure the face except when worn for documented medical or disability reasons." Seeing no further discussion, let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Svendsen, please state your vote. No. Clerk, please close and display the voteThat motion fails with seven board members voting no, including Ms. Ricardi, Mr. Svendsen, Ms. Chernov, myself, Mr. Pepper, Dr. Rashid, and Ms.
LaBelle, and Mrs. Griffiths voting yes, and Vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. With that, we will return to the base motion as amended. Are there any further amendments? Yes, Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair. Let's round this out. I move that on line 109 of the red line version, that we strike the entire line and reassign the letters with A now being hooded sweatshirts. Line 133, strike "pajama tops and bottoms" and insert, "Students may wear casual attire, including loungewear and
athleisure wear, provided clothing meets the coverage requirements for tops and bottoms as outlined above." And then at line 225, strike or, and between 225 and 226 add D, hats and E, sleepwear or pajamas, including nightgowns, pajama sets, and bedroom slippers. And then at 227, change D to F. Thank you. Ms. Chernov has made an amendment. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Ms. Ricardi. Ms. Chernov, would you like to speak further to your amendment?
Yes. First of all, I just want to bring to the board's attention there was a little bit of a tweak and update in the way that the last part of the amendment reads with the bullet point at line 225. In speaking with Ms. Scanlon and Mr. Allen, the intent in that section, the way it would've been reformatted under my original posting on Friday would not have made sense. We would've had to make further formatting changes, so this kind of covers all of that. This amendment simply makes hats not allowed and does not allow pajamas.
So I spoke to this a little bit last time. I am having a hard time understanding why when we're not allowed to wear a hood in school because it might conceal something, how a hat is different. And also in consultation with our safety and security staff, they did say that it could be a barrier to identifying someone with cameras. And for me, I feel like we have an obligation that if that were to even be one student where it would jeopardize a safety investigation or that it could be concealing something, that
my commitment is to making sure that we are ensuring that safety. And so for me, they are the same in nature, and so I don't think that kids should be allowed to wear hats during school. And then pajamas is-- I hear the public speaker tonight, but in my community, I do feel like there is at least an appetite to have kids dress for success in school, and pajamas to me are for sleeping. So that is my amendments. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. Is there any further discussion? Yes, Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. There's a lot going on here in this amendment.
I'm going to respectfully disagree with my colleague here. I don't think hats are the security risk they're planning to be. Truthfully, I get looking good and feeling good and dressing for success, but school is not an employment workplace. I have no issue with a student wearing pajama pants to school. We do it-- It's actually a special treat for my elementary kids to wear pajamas on pajama day. So, right. But high school kids, we want to get them there. We want them to have a sense of belonging, and so if they come to school as they're comfortable,
I'm fine with it, and I can't be supporting this. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. Mr. Svendsen? Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to ask maybe Ms. Scanlon to elaborate on this. So when I look at the policy in terms-- And this is speaking to the hats piece of this and the potential for any security risk with the hats. If I'm looking at the clean version of the policy and I go to line 98 of the clean version, I know we say students may not wear headgear that obscures the face. And to me, that would prevent a situation where a student's
allowed to wear a hat, headgear that's causing that kind of risk. But I would be curious if there's anything we need to do, in Ms. Scanlon's opinion, to clarify that with respect to the hats piece, and just say subject to that line on line 98. So I can speak to the discussion that was held between principals who participated in the focus group, because the issue of hats did come up, and part of that discussion centered on whether or not
hats obscured a student's face from school cameras in particular. And my understanding of that discussion was really that the concern that the hat might obscure the face was an angle from the camera to the face, in particular, if a student had a ball cap on. So depending on the angle of the camera and the position of a student's face, you could have a situation where the ball cap might obscure the face. That was
discussed by the principals at the focus group, and the consensus was that that wasn't too much of a concern. I recall principals, one in particular, couldn't recall a time that had ever occurred, and to the contrary, said that he recalled times where they were able to identify students based on the hat that was being worn at the time. That's really all I can add to the matter related tosecurity and hats and potentially
obstructing the face. Thank you. Mrs. Griffith. Per Ms. Chernov's amendment, I just want to mention that mine was very similar. It was a little bit different, but I don't really see the difference as far as what I put forward as far as headgear and anything obscuring the face. I do think that you should not have anything obscuring the face, and a hat and a hood does that. So I will go with her amendment. It's just slightly different than mine, but I just want to clear up again that, and I know that religious and ethnic and cultural was brought
up, but I think it's very important that we do have a dress code where we don't have anything obscuring the face, due to learning and engagement. Now, as far as the pajamas go, that's a no for me. Pajamas are always a no for me, unless it's pajama day. My children had a special spirit day in elementary and middle school where they could wear pajamas. But wearing them every day, I find them to be a problem, because then I start seeing them in the airport. I start seeing kids everywhere wearing them outside
of their homes, and I don't think that's appropriate wear. So, thank you. Thank you. Ms. Lavelle. I know we've been talking a lot about students, what they should and shouldn't wear. Should they be comfortable? Should they dress for success? I would like to reiterate that the business community, interviewers at colleges, at workplaces, all say that our kids have no clue how to dress for success. And if we don't start modeling that,
both through the staff, the teachers, and our policies, they're not going to learn. And this is a big, important thing for when they are getting ready to go out into the world. So I think we need to have a dress code that kind of clarifies, this is where the line is drawn. This is for fun, this is for work. And school is their work at this point in their life. So, that's one of the reasons that I believe we do have a dress code. Thank you. Yes, Ms. Ricardi? Thank you, Madam Chair. So I think I made my points last time really
clearly, but I actually have one quick question about policies. Where do we have our teacher dress code policy? I know it's a separate policy. Do we know when that's up for review? Not to put anybody on the spot. If we don't know, we don't know off the top of our head, because I can't remember which policy it was. Yeah, I can answer, Ms. Ricardi. Okay. It's Policy 7564. It was last reviewed December 13th, 2022. So the five-year review would be in December 2027. However, based on collective bargaining, there may be some implications for revisiting that policy.
I missed the last part. There may be opportunity to reconsider that? Oh, implications to- Oh, implications ... further consider, yeah. Okay. All right, thank you. I'm old-school when it comes to this stuff, and I'm not going to go back down that path for any number of reasons. Nor am I going to relive my 70s and 80s and 90s and what people wore back then and hope that never comes back. But all things said, I think one of the things we need to do is I think we do need to revisit the teacher dress code policy if we can under the collective bargaining agreement, because that is a workplace for our teachers and whatnot.
And I've actually had a chance to talk to several of the principals and a bunch of other people that work in the schools, and I think that's a concern. It keeps coming up that if we're revisiting dress code, we need to be looking at that one, too. So I'm going to put a pin in that one for a moment. The long pajamas, as much as I hate seeing them, and as I teach at George Mason, I see them periodically from students, but it's certainly not a thing. And I hope our student that spoke last time was right in saying that that's kind of just a fad, and hopefully it will pass. I can only pray.
But nonetheless, I like this amendment. Again, I've talked to a couple of my principals about this, and oftentimes, and I don't know if it's a building by building thing, but I've been told that sometimes students are asked to take off hats, or if they're going to wear them, wear them backwards so that they can engage full face with their teachers and whatnot. I think the other thing about the hoodies is also a legitimate one. I think it's a big concern, although I love my hoodies, too, in my house. So nonetheless, I think that's a good thing to have them, but I also
understand keeping the hood up can hide earbuds and all the other things, and AirPods and whatever people are wearing. So I like the amendment in general. I don't think it can ever hurt. I will also reiterate the same concern that I meant last time, too. In Sterling Park, doing major changes to a dress code can really impact families. They don't necessarily have the means and resources. I can tell you that very honestly, that every single one of our schools has free clothing places at our schools where kids can get new clothing and appropriate clothing for the weather.
So I am concerned about major changes to... dress code for that purpose. But I like these changes, and I think getting back to better definitions about what's acceptable is great. And I think my only concern is making sure that all of our facilities are equally administering this across the board. But other than that, I appreciate the amendments. Thank you. Any further discussion on Ms. Chernoff's amendments? All right. I'm going to start at the beginning and reread. I know. Jamie. Line 109, strike the entire line and reassign the
letters with A now being hooded sweatshirts. Line 133, strike pajama tops and bottoms and insert, "Students may wear casual attire, including loungewear and athleisure, provided clothing meets the coverage requirements for tops and bottoms as outlined above." At line 225 strike or between 225 and 226 add D, hats, E, sleepwear or pajamas, including nightgowns, pajama sets, and bedroom slippers. And at 227, change D to F so that it
becomes any other garment. Did I capture that? Is there anything? Yep. All right. So let's move forward with the vote. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. Mr. Swanson, please state your vote. No. Clerk, please close and display the vote. This motion fails because we have split the vote again. And ultimately, this would mean that the entire item, I believe, would return at the next school board meeting because ultimately this is unresolved. That's correct. All right. So, this item will return as an
action item at the next school board meeting. All right. Thank you everyone. Let's move on to our information items. We'll start at 14.01, Department of Academics Consolidated Grant Application, presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis and Scott Meisenzahl. All right. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, we are pleased to be back in front of you to discuss the annual updated consolidated grant application for the '26, '27 school year for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA,
as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act. So really briefly before I turn it over to Mr. Meisenzahl for all of the details, LCPS completes a consolidated grant application annually to manage all of our federal programs collectively in one application. So the '26, '27 consolidated application, like previous applications, is comprised of Title I, Part A, Title II, Part A, Title III, Part A, and Title IV, Part A. As is standard practice every year, VDOE has advised us to
use level funding for planning purposes, and we will receive our official allocations later in the fall. And again, that's standard practice. So Mr. Meisenzahl will go briefly through each of the titles and how our funds are spent. And then just a note, there is, as you can see in board docs, the complete application. Apologies, it does not transfer very well from the file that we have to submit to VDOE into a PDF, so that's why we provide these slides for you. Thank you, Dr. Ellis. Good evening.
Beginning with Title I, Part A, the core purpose of this funding is to provide financial assistance through state educational agencies to school divisions and public schools. Specifically, it targets schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and achievement standards. As we shared recently during our school board work session, when identifying Title I schools, federal guidelines dictate that schools must be served if they are at or above
75% poverty rate. If a division chooses to serve additional schools below that threshold, they may serve in rank order, beginning with the school holding the highest enrollment poverty rate. As a reminder, LCPS serves elementary schools starting with the highest poverty rate down to 55%, and secondary schools down to a 65% threshold. This targeted framework allows us to direct resources to the schools with the greatest needs while actively promoting equity and improving academic outcomes for all students. Schools are officially designated as Title I based on
identified student percentage data provided directly from School Nutrition Services. This system relies on directly certified data, meaning families are automatically counted because they are already enrolled in another state assistance program. While our current numbers show a downward trend, this apparent decline may not reflect an actual drop in community need. Instead, it could potentially be driven by procedural changes for families to qualify for SNAP and Medicaid.Because our designated buildings operate under a school-wide model, all
students attending a school-wide Title I school are eligible to benefit from the resources and programming funding provided by Title I, Part A. As was shared during our recent work session, Leesburg Elementary will not be served as Title I in the upcoming year, and this is the only change for '26, '27. For the upcoming school year, Title I, Part A will fund positions tailored to support schools' identified needs, including support for reading and math. McKinney-Vento support, specifically funding the McKinney-Vento specialist, who provides services to homeless students alongside essential support for
transportation, a neglected set-aside dedicated to our local neglected youth facility. In addition to transportation for homeless funds are also set aside to support transportation for foster students. For our Title I identified schools, supplemental instructional materials and supplies, family and community engagement activities and events, and professional development opportunities are funded through these funds. And to meet our equitable services requirements, a mandatory set-aside for participating nonprofit private schools. Slide seven shows Title I funding over the past five years.
To understand how these numbers are generated, our federal allocation is determined by the federal government and passed to the Virginia Department of Education based on poverty levels drawn from census data estimates. For context, these census estimates are calculated using a statistical model that combines national population surveys with federal tax, economic, and public assistance records. Then VDOE awards sub-grants to local divisions based on those allocations and other state-level adjustments. It's important to remind everyone that the number of schools that we serve
does not impact our division's overall allocations. Moving next to Title II, Part A. These federal funds support programs intended to increase academic achievement, just as Title I did, this time by focusing directly on our educators. Specifically, these funds may be used to increase the number of qualified teachers in the classroom, increase the number of qualified principals or assistant principals in a building, elevate the overall effectiveness of teachers and principals by holding school divisions and schools accountable for student academic progress. For Loudoun County Public Schools, Title II funds are primarily
used to improve teacher retention and the quality and effectiveness of teachers through coaching and professional development. To meet the purpose and intent of Title II, Part A, funds will be used to support five full-time employees dedicated to our instructional mentor coaches, the beginning teacher coaching cohort, which supports the retention and development of our newest educators by providing opportunities for first-year teachers to build a community of support grouped by grade level or content area through monthly sessions
facilitated by teacher coaches. Additional professional development opportunities that are aligned with division priorities identified through the continuous improvement efforts of our schools and mandated equitable services to participating nonprofit private schools. Regarding Title II allocations, it's a key distinction that these funds are not allocated to specific schools. Instead, the funding is utilized at the division level, so we can flexibly support identified areas of need across LCPS as a whole.
The table on slide 11 shows the allocations received by the division over the past five years. Turning to Title III, Part A, the primary purpose of these funds is to ensure that English learner students, including immigrant children and youth, attain English language proficiency and successfully meet the same challenging state academic standards expected of all students. To accomplish this, funds are strictly aligned to support four core areas: English language proficiency and academic achievement, effective language instruction and educational programs,
professional development, and parent, family, and community participation. For the '26, '27 school year, Title III, Part A will specifically fund one EL family and community engagement supervisor, two EL family and community engagement instructors to coordinate family and community engagement activities and events, three EL instructional facilitators distributed to support our elementary, middle, and high school levels, targeted instructional materials and digital content designed for language acquisition, and specialized English learner professional development opportunities for
instructional staff. The allocation shown for Title III, Part A funding combined two distinct allocations, one dedicated exclusively to supporting English learners and the other specifically designated for immigrant children and youth. Slide 14 shows the total Title III allocations from the past five years. Next, we look at Title IV, Part A, which represents the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants program. This grant provides funding to improve academic achievement by expanding local capacity. It targets three areas, providing all children
with a well-rounded educationImproving school conditions for learning and improving the use of technology to elevate digital literacy and academic success. ESSA guidelines allow school divisions the flexibility to transfer up to 100% of their Title IV Part A funds directly to Title I, Part A. As an expectation for the use of Title IV funds, it's to prioritize schools with the greatest academic needs and highest poverty percentages. Therefore, for the '26, '27 school year,
LCPS will exercise the option to transfer the Title IV Part A funds to Title I, Part A. This allows us to maximize our resources and concentrate our funding where it can impact our most vulnerable, at-risk student populations through our Title I framework. All right, and then to close out, here is a summary of our next steps. And we anticipate returning to the school as the application before submitting the plan to VDOE for approval. Once we do receive the finalized allocations in the fall, Mr. Meisenzahl will work with business and finance to submit
any amendments necessary, and this is a process that we do every year. And with that, we'll turn it back to you for questions. Thank you so much. Board members, are there any questions? Ms. Racoti. Thank you, Madam Chair. So could you guys explain to me a little bit more about the transfer of Title IV funds back to Title I and what the implications are in doing that? I get that we do that, and is it the full money transferred over? Can you explain to me just a little bit? Let's assume I know nothing about this. Yeah. That would be a good way to start about Title IV, and explain to me what the benefit is of that. Sure. So transferability actually applies, it's allowable for Title IV and
Title II. It allows you to transfer up to 100%, so all of the grant into Title I or Title II if you're going from Title IV, and it allows for flexibility. There are some things with Title IV that are currently required. For example, a certain percentage of the funds must be spent on technology infrastructure from Title IV, which in our division, that's not an identified need. And so by transferring it into Title I, those funds now take on the governance under Title I, and we can use
them to support our schools as additional Title I funds do. One of the things when looking at the actual allocations, the Title IV allocations are relatively not a large amount compared to the other funds. It is over $100,000, which I don't want to say is not a lot, but relatively compared to our other grants, it allows us to move those funds and support our identified Title I schools. Is there anything in Title IV that we're not doing when we switch the money over? Anything required?
Yeah, anything that's required that we can't do by switching. There are different opportunities with Title IV, but what we must do is identify our needs. We have to do a needs assessment, which we conduct through all of our federal programs. And so our greatest needs are what are being identified through our needs assessment. And so that use of Title IV funds as Title I are meeting our needs assessment. So long way to say it, we have to do a needs assessment, and that's what dictates how we use those funds. And so by transferring it into Title
I, we're able to use those Title IV funds to meet our needs. And do you have to do that needs assessment every year? We do a needs assessment every year. There is regulation that says it has to be done every three years, I believe, but as a division, we conduct it on an annual basis. Okay. And the only other question I have is I'm noticing that a couple of schools in my district, of which seven of the 10 are Title I, have declined in, I guess, the percentage of eligibility. So is that because the enrollment numbers went down last summer, or is it because of just a formula that's being used?
So if you're referencing the Title I school slide where it has the last three years of poverty rate, that is that CEP data that comes from the nutrition office. In doing some research on why these numbers might be declining, there's evidence to say that there are changes in-- So the way these numbers are identified is through directly certified families, so families that participate in SNAP, TANF, Medicaid. And so the changes over the last few years in eligibility for families would have impact on our
identified percentages. So it's still our same families, it's just the direct services that they have previously received, they may not be eligible for with changes with procedures for those services. I would love to know, as you triangulate the rationale for that, I would be very curious. I have some hypotheses on this, but I don't know that to be true, and I don't want to assume, so it'd be really great if we could sort that out because I'm noticing even just at the high school level, almost a 20% drop, and so that's pretty significant.
And I guess the other question is does that then impact the resources that are provided? Proportionally? So the poverty percentages are what determine the allocations. When we receive the entire allocations as a division, like the one full pie, the percentages by school is how we make the size of the slices. So it's pretty proportionate as far as the decline, so we haven't seen a significant change in the allocations by school. Okay. That's great to know, because I'm going into a meeting tomorrow with a whole
bunch of folks that are supporting this group, and I just want to make sure I understand this. Thank you for that clarification. I appreciate it. Thank you. Any further discussion? Any questions? All right. Seeing none. Thank you so much. Consent. Oh, yes. Would you like to move this item to consent? Let's take a temperature check. All right. This item will come back on consent at the next school board meeting. With that, we will move on to item 14.02, Department of Teaching and Learning, Pre-K and LCPS, LCPS Head Start Preschool Grant Continuation Application Year Three of Five, an annual governing body overview and
approvals for the potential step expansion. Thank you, Mr. Slevin. Please go right ahead, team. Thank you, Chair Chandler. So this item is related to pre-K and LCPS this evening, and we have two items for the board to consider. So, the first item is not related to the presentation that we'll go into for the second part. So I'm just going to be talking to you about the first item. Got it. Got it. Okay. So the first item is about the LCPS Head Start Preschool Grant Continuing Application for years three- ... of five. Oops. My watch is telling us what time it is.
So the Head Start Preschool team would like to extend a sincere thank you to Ms. Chernoff for participating in our parent-led policy council and being part of the meeting where the draft of the annual Head Start Preschool grant application and budget was presented and approved by that group. I'd like to acknowledge Ms. Duffin and Ms. Rosario, who have joined us this evening, who lead the efforts related to pre-K and Head Start specifically. The Head Start Preschool Program is wrapping up its 33rd year in Loudoun County. Head Start is a federally funded comprehensive program designed to
meet the needs of four-year-old children and their families living at or below the federal poverty level. In addition to providing high-quality preschool education services, staff address other needs to include social, emotional, health, nutrition, and family wellbeing. There is a teacher and teacher assistant in each class, and families receive support from a multidisciplinary Head Start team, including a nurse, social workers, and a mental health and disabilities manager. LCPS Head Start Preschool is locally administered with federal funds and in-kind monetary support and services from the school district. The current proposal includes federal funding for FY27 in the amount of
$1.1 million, which includes a cost of living adjustment of $7,426 that was awarded in May of 2026. The Head Start Preschool Program is funded to serve 100 students and is located in six classrooms throughout Loudoun County. The Head Start Preschool Grant Continuing Application, year three of five, and the annual governing body and overview approvals are being submitted tonight as an information item for the June 9th, 2026, school board meeting to be reviewed. In order for Loudoun County Public Schools to continue to receive available federal funds for the Head Start Preschool
Program, it is necessary to electronically submit a grant application and budget by September 1st. Following policy council and school board approval, it would be submitted. So that's the first portion of the information tonight. So I'm happy to pause there and see if there's any questions about the Head Start continuation grant. Any questions, school board members? I see none. Let's proceed. Oh, would you like to add-- Or can we just add the application? Should we... Okay. Let's... Okay. All right. So the second item we wanted to talk to you about related to preschool is focusing on a potential step
expansion. And rather than just simply looking at wait list data for preschool to determine growth, we really wanted to take a look more closely at gap analysis data to make sure we are focusing on our students and schools who need support the most. So to do that, we are going to talk a little bit to you about serving the gap. And when we talk about the gap, we're really speaking about those students entering kindergarten without any
preschool experience. So those are the students that we're focusing on this evening. So if you look at the overall data for all of our students entering kindergarten, so this year it was 4,770 enrolled kindergarten students, we found that across LCPS, 893 of those students, or 18.7% of them, entered kindergarten without any pre-K experience. The key insight is that nearly one in five students are starting kindergarten without the foundational benefits of pre-K.
Now, if we zoom in even more to our Title I schools, the numbers become what I think is pretty alarming. So among the 931 students enrolled in kindergarten in Title I elementary schools, 389 students, or 41.8%, had no pre-K experience.So this data really shows a significant concentration of the need in our Title I school communities. So expanding access to STEP or pre-K is
critical because of the effectiveness of early childhood education programs, right? It's very well documented and researched. I'm sure you all have seen the research that shows that higher quality levels in these programs directly correlate with improved academic outcomes, better behavior skills, and greater social competence for children. And some of those key studies are listed here, and we are happy to provide that information if you would like more. But it's a really important conversation that I think we need to have.
So going to the next slide, we have an amazing pre-K program, and I'll just shout out all of our preschool teams from STEP Head Start and Early Childhood Education. We ensure that the quality of our program aligns with state standards, specifically the Virginia Quality Birth to Five, or VQB5 initiative. And that really focuses on three areas. So first, using an approved high-quality district-approved curriculum. Second is enhancing teacher-child interactions
through tools like what you might have heard about the CLASS, or Classroom Assessment Scoring System. And finally, promoting continuous growth through instructional coaching, feedback, and data-driven insights. So I also just wanted to add onto the shout-out, it's important to note that all of our Head Start and STEP classes already exceed these state expectations, with many classrooms achieving a distinguished rating every year. So we're here this evening because we have an opportunity, knowing what we know about the importance of pre-K, to think
strategically about a potential planned phased approach for STEP expansion, which I will talk about over the next few slides. For fiscal year '28, we may be requesting up to 32 additional VPI slots with the Virginia Preschool Initiative Grant, in line with House Bill This expansion would allow us to open two new classrooms. The locations would be determined based on classroom availability within Title I schools. To ensure we reach families across a wider area, we plan to partner with Title I principals in feeder zones to promote the newly available classrooms and open
seats. We see an opportunity to plan for possible further STEP expansion in the upcoming conversations about the Eastern Loudoun attendance zones. At the same time, we acknowledge that space may not exist in those buildings, but we want to start looking while the conversation is happening. The next few slides outline a potential long-term roadmap for our STEP preschool expansion. The timeline shows our planned trajectory. If we start in FY28 by adding two classrooms for a total of 352 VPI slots, and in
FY29 add two more, we would reach 384 slots. The growth would accelerate in FY20 and FY31, adding four classrooms each year, culminating in 512 total slots by FY31. The location of these classrooms would be continuously guided by data to address the area of highest needs. By FY31, if we were to engage and go down this path, this strategic expansion aimed for a 60% growth in the STEP program over four years. Our goal is to increase four-year-old access and significantly reduce the
pre-K experience gap that Dr Ellis mentioned at the beginning of this presentation. This means serving an additional 192 students, bringing our total capacity to 512 students across 32 classrooms. This slide visually summarizes the impact of the phased approach, illustrating how we will be serving the gap in Title I schools from FY27 to our goal in FY31. So the ask in this portion of the information item is to seek support to direct staff to consider opportunities for STEP expansion as one of the multiple
factors when developing the staff plan for Eastern Loudoun attendance zones next fall. Can you go back to slide 12 real quick? Yes. I just want to put an exclamation point on that point that Mr Slevin just made. This timeline is just an example of a timeline that we could use, and if we were to identify space sooner rather than later, we could feasibly expedite this timeline and include more classrooms if we had those classrooms available. Is that fair? Yes. Yeah. So we'd love your thoughts. Well, thank you so much for the presentation.
I will say I willingly and wholeheartedly embrace this plan and process, and I am grateful that you identified the opportunity to look at it in conjunction with the Eastern Loudoun redistricting. I think there's an opportunity there to identify ways to make more of an alignment in our districts, and so I would wholeheartedly support that. And board members, would love to hear your thoughts. Mr Pepper? Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you guys for this presentation. Early childhood education is clearly... one of the most vital things that we can do for our students.
And I don't live in a Title 1 school attendance zone, but even talking to, when my daughter went to kindergarten, it was right after COVID, and it was a hard time for teachers, and I asked the teacher, "What do you need?" And she goes, "I have such a disparity just in my kindergarten class. I have students who know how to read, and I have students who don't even know how to hold a pencil." And it all comes back to early childhood education. I love this phased approach. I love this idea of finding the space where we have space, but I would love to see us try to take this in some way a little bit further. Particularly as I know, and we all know, our school's enrollment is
stagnant or going down a little bit, and it's actually at the early elementary grades where we're losing enrollment. And if we have that space, would love to even consider, I'm just going to throw it out there, expanding to what someone like our neighbor to the south, Prince William, is doing and going towards a universal pre-K model. I think that the economic benefits to the Loudoun community would be very strong. The educational benefits are without a doubt incredibly strong. So I'm just going to put a bug in, just a little play for that right now. But this is a great first step, and I really do want to encourage just to find those places to expand this STEP program.
Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much. I wish every conversation and decision was this easy. This is so easy to support. Obviously, my friends in the back, I think we've been to every single preschool classroom in Loudoun County now, so I'm super excited. We spend a lot of time with the littles and teaching kindergarten. And I just have to say that I've seen a lot come across my plate in terms of data and graphs and things and initiatives and
acronyms. This is equity in action. This is providing the supports and the access to the populations that absolutely need it. That is equity. It is so beautiful to see that you are trying to close down this gap for kids and give them what they need. So yes, absolutely yes, and to be so forward-thinking and so strategic as we enter into this redistricting process, and to be willing to ask us to really be
thinking about the needs of our little learners and putting that in our schools, yes, 1,000%. So I could talk preschool all day. I wish it was what we talked about all day. But this is just beautiful, it is strategic, it is well thought out, and I cannot think of a better way to align to our values here in LCPS than to pursue this. And so I thank you for your work. I thank you for the team in the back and for giving me even the slightest glimpse into the beautiful work that you do for our kids.
Thank you. Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, so she is a raving fan of the team in the back. I can't even begin to tell you how much she loves you guys. I hear about it all the time. Super excited about this, and everybody that hears me talk about our Sterling Park and Eastern Loudoun students knows that this is really important to me and a passion project. I think some of the people in Loudoun County that are in the rest of the county don't really understand the profound issues that we have in Sterling Park because people don't really spend a whole lot of time in Sterling
Park. But I can tell you, having lived there for 15 plus years now, it's a very, very rich, culturally diverse, beautiful place with beautiful families. I think just as a brainstorm to all this too, is that as we're looking at bringing in pre-K, which is going to require a lot of communication with the community to get them engaged, because we're seeing a lot of that stuff, it might also be really interesting to fold in English learning for parents as we're bringing in their preschoolers into the
process. And I say that because it's one thing to bring in preschoolers and get them engaged in the learning process, but if their parents don't speak English, it's challenging. And I know at Sterling Middle, they've done this with some parents. They've got some programs where they're doing English learning with the parents too, and I think that's a really great thing. So there may be some interesting interplay here between not only bringing in the preschoolers, but also doing something with the families to bring in English learning for the parents at the same time and make it a family thing. Thanks. Thank you. Any further discussion? All right. Board members, is there any appetite to put this item on consent?
Okay. This item will come back as action at the next school board meeting. And with that, we will move on to our next item, 14.03, Department of Business and Financial Services Fiscal Year '26 Year-End Budget Alignment, presented tonight by Ms. Sharon Willoughby, our chief financial officer. Thank you. Throughout this past fiscal year, the school board has heard three fiscal financial reviews that were presented. During those reviews, we indicated that we would expect to have a year-end action being brought forward to the school board, similar to what we've had done in prior years.
The action that is brought to you as an information tonight has two parts. One is to align some line item budgets within the school operating fund, and the second part is to request a supplemental budget increase for each of our self-insurance funds.For the first part within the school operating fund, staff is recommending budget alignments of $2.3 million in total. This consists entirely of line items for contracted services due to projected cost related to special education and related service professionals,
legal expenses, and transportation fuel. As we indicated in the third quarter financial report, there are sufficient savings in our other school operating fund accounts where we will reallocate from, including other contractual services and software and software licenses accounts. There would be no increase to the bottom line budget for the school operating fund, and this is brought forward to be in line with our policy related to budget transfers. The second part is the budget supplemental for each of our self-insurance funds.
The workers' comp, the VLDP, and our short-term disability funds are all forecasted to exceed budget, primarily due to claims cost. Staff recommend supplemental budget increases of 900,000 for the VLDP fund, 200,000 for the workers' comp fund, and 50,000 for the short-term disability fund. For these funds, the supplemental increase would be paid for from operating fund transfers to ensure that we maintain the required two-month claims reserves. And the school operating fund is the direct funding source for
those three self-insurance funds. The last supplemental budget increase is in the amount of $33 million for the health self-insurance fund, also due to increased pharmacy and healthcare costs that we shared throughout the year. This supplemental budget increase would be paid for by above-budget revenues. That includes support from the county's FY25 year-end funds, strong pharmacy rebates, and above-budget employer premium contributions. This transfer would ensure that the health self-insurance fund would have a positive FY26 ending position. And again, this is
brought as an information tonight with the request for action by the board at the next meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Willoughby. Thank you. Are there any questions, board members? All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to our next item, which is item 14.04, Finance and Operations Committee, Revision of Policy 4310, Purchasing Authority, presented tonight by Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. If I may, I'll ask Ms. Willoughby to speak to it. It did come through Finance and Operations. Thank you. This policy and the following policy were originally brought to the school board
back in January after having gone through FNO committee previously, and at that time, they were returned back to the committee where there were some additional revisions made that is now being brought forward to the full board. The proposed revisions provide clarity and add requirements for procurement threshold monitoring and quarterly reporting to the FNO, the Finance and Operations Committee. Specifically, on the red line, Section B2 of the policy is where there is more clarification provided
related to the contact that occurs between offerors and bidders and LCPS staff. And then there is a new section, Section C, which is Threshold Monitoring and Notification. This is the new reporting section that outlines various items to be reported to committee members as well as the cadence of that reporting. The reporting is simply that. It is just reporting only. There is no additional action that would be
resulting from the committee or from the board. The reporting would be in terms of the administrative actions that occur or the operational actions that are occurring within the procurement division, and just elevating some of that work to the committee members. There's a lot of red lining there in terms of the different types of reporting, so I'd be happy to answer any questions that the board may have on that. All right. Board members, any questions? Mrs. Griffiths? Mrs. Willoughby, thank you so much. Oh, thank you, Madam Chair. Sorry.
I don't see B2 on the red line or the clean copy. You said B2? Can you clarify that for me? I see B1, and then it goes on to the next page, and then it goes right to C. So where is B2? I have that B2 starts on line 25. Twenty-five. On the clean copy? Am I looking at the wrong thing? Wait a minute. Hold on. Hold on a second. I think I was in the wrong policy. I apologize. It's the red line- Okay ... the one that's annotated red line. Okay. I think I might have been in the wrong- And loaded in Four Docs. Okay, I see it. All right. I apologize. Thank you.
Any further discussion? All right. Board members, is there an appetite to put this on consent? I think I'd like to have further discussion. Okay. So then let's move on to 14.05, Finance and Operations Committee, Revision of Policy 4370, School Board Contract Approval, presented again by Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair, and if I may, I'll have Ms. Willoughby speak to it. Thank you So this policy related to school board contract approval has revisions to provide alignment with the Virginia Public Procurement Act and identify the parties responsible for the execution and
signing of contracts based on dollar amount and type of contract. Specifically, under Section A of the red line version that was loaded into BoardDocs, we have provided additional clarification of roles specifically related to the procurement activities. A lot of the information here somewhat could be duplicative within other policies or the VPPA, but to provide clarification within this policy, it was provided here. Section C is the new section,
and this is related to the signature authority thresholds for contracts. And want to draw a distinction from the dollar amounts that's identified under Section A, because those are the procurement thresholds which drive what method of procurement is required. And Section C would be after that procurement process is complete and the resulting contract, who has the authority to sign those contracts. And so the school board, I'm sure, is familiar with the $250,000 contract approval threshold, where we bring those contracts through our Finance and Operations Committee
to the school board for approval. And within that box, we have identified the additional dollar threshold and who has the authority to sign those contracts. We've also codified in this policy that all contracts need to go through the Procurement and Risk Management Office, as well as through Division Council for review and approval. Additionally, we've also added some additional footnoting or cross-referencing related to conflicts of interest. And again, I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you.
Board members, any questions? All right. Is there an appetite to put this one on consent? Mr. Svenson? All right. This one will come back on consent. Thank you so much. We will move on to item 14.06, Department of Support Services name recommendations for the new high school, HS14. This will be presented by Ms. Tate. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. I'll start- Oh, thank you, Mr. Lewis ... and then ask Ms. Tate to help me as we go through. So we wanted tonight to bring to you the committee that the board appointed in March 10th. The board appointed a committee to review the names for the new high school, HS14. And so Mrs. Tate and her team had multiple
meetings with that committee. And you see here tonight is a recommendation for-- The policy requires them to bring back a recommendation and also two alternatives. So their task was to provide all three names. They brought back a recommendation for Beacon Heights High School as the recommendation, and then the first alternate was Summit High School, and then the second alternate was Thornton Summit High School. We're happy to have any conversation. Mrs. Tate can tell you more about the details if you want to dig into the committee's work. The only other thing I'll point out is
anytime there's a name involved in that, we hire the company History Matters to look into those names. I'll share that that's also attached here. In this particular case, the name is not for an individual, so there's not much way for them to search out the entire numerous generations of a family. So we have a little bit of information there for that. So we offer that to the board for your consideration and any comments or questions you may have. Thank you, Mr. Lewis. Yes, Dr. Rashid? Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Mr. Lewis. I just had to ask, of the three names that the committee came up with,
was it in order of preference, as you mentioned, down the line? Yes, ma'am. So the recommendation, they're recommending Beacon Heights. I will say, too, that I failed to mention before that by policy, the school board is not obligated to adopt the committee's recommendation. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. This might be a point of information because I'm new to this naming process, but I have heard that previous boards have decided not to name high schools for an individual or schools for a particular individual. Is that correct? Still standing? Where are we on that?
Mr. Lewis, would you like to speak to that? Sure. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. So the Policy says that facilities may be named to honor deceased individuals who significantly contributed to the improvement of life in Loudoun County. The school board will not consider naming a facility for an individual unless the individual has been deceased for at least five years. So in this case, it's a family, not an individual, so that doesn't necessarily apply to that, but in policy, it still allows that, or I guess it doesn't prevent the board from doing it. Okay. And I would venture to say that this is a different scenario because it's
not an individual, but rather the Thornton family. Okay. Appreciate that clarification. Thank you. Ms. LaBelle? Thank you, Madam Chair. You know that I like history. I know that you like history. And I've been researching Loudoun history for the 30 years I've lived here. And Watson is a unique community, and the Thornton family has been there all this time. So it is a historic name and a designation. The other thing I have problems with, I have to say, Beacon Hill was the name of Arthur Godfrey's
farm in Western Loudoun. And to call something Beacon Mountain Doesn't seem like it could be confusing. And so when it comes to it, I'm probably going to say no to Beacon Summit or Mountain- Beacon Heights ... whichever they're calling it. Beacon Heights. Heights. Yes. Well, it's the Beacon part that gets me. It could be confusing. I am. Thank you. Any further discussion? Madam Chair. Oh, sorry. Mr. Svendsen. I just had a small clerical question. I see in some of the materials, it's Thornton with an N, and sometimes a Thornton with no N. Can you clarify what the family
name is? It is with an N, and if that's a typo, I apologize. Oh, thank you, Ms. Tate. Okay. Thank you, Ms. Tate. Yes, I think it was just in the history matters attachment, it refers to Thornton without the N. Thank you for that clarification. Yes, Ms. McCardy. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just have some questions about just the process in general, because of all the things we've been doing. I have not had my eye on the renaming process because I do trust the committee and their process. So, I appreciate the fact that we've got the recommendations
in here, and I specifically really appreciate the fact that we've got the rationale behind the name choices in each one of these three. So, I do appreciate that. And I also appreciate the fact that we've got the meeting minutes from all these meetings, and they've had many of them, and I'm sure the discussion and debate was robust. Having sat through some of the renaming ones, I get how that can go. So I appreciate everybody's effort in this too. What is our timeline for this? Because this school's opening next two years? Opens in the fall of 2028.
'28. Okay, so we've got a couple of years. Okay. All right. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. All right. Mrs. Griffiths. My thoughts on the name come from hearing about the committee itself, where the committee, I think the second committee in, decided not to do a name for an individual or family, and then brought it back somehow. But my suggestion is actually maybe the football stadium as an idea. Name it after the Thornton family. That's just something I wanted to put out there.
And if anybody's game for that, I thought that would be a nice idea. That would have to be named as well, right? Yes, Dr. Rashid. I think that the Thornton family had come out and really emphasized on school a lot, and had said that from what I gathered, especially from Ms. Lily Jeffries in her public comment, that there was a lot of kids in the family, and a lot of them emphasized school. The family emphasized education. So although the football stadium I think is a great idea, but I think that the school would be better. Thank you.
Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to agree with my colleagues to my left here. And Ms. LaBelle, you know so much more about Loudoun County history than I do. You're a beacon of knowledge. That being said, I don't actually like the name Beacon. No, I'm a beacon on a hill. You're a beacon on a hill. I love that not only does the middle school that's right on the same side is Watson Mountain, and if the Thornton family has been in that area forever, is there a more appropriate tie-in between the two schools than Watson Mountain and Thornton Summit? I don't think so. So that's where I'm at right now, and just hearing
the history and knowing that it's not one individual, but it's a family, a family who's been in our community for generations. And to me, the name is growing on me. And we're not voting today. We're not voting today. But I am really appreciating the history and the arguments and what this land means to Loudoun County and our students. Thank you. Any further discussion? Yes, Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Tate, was there discussion in the committee about using a name of a family or an individual versus using
something like Summit or Beacon? Was that part of the conversation in the committee, or did the names just kind of, sort of come organically? Yes to all of your questions. Thank you for that. Yes. There was discussion about naming schools after individuals. There was conversations about naming after family, the connection with the Thornton family on Watson Road and their geographical location. There was conversation about not naming after an individual. The committee voted that way at one point that they would not, and then at the
next meeting, names kept continuing to be added back. And so that discussion prevailed. With the exception of the April 8, and that was a really bad audio recording process for us, we have audio of all of the meetings posted on our school names page if you wish to listen. Yes. Thank you. I appreciate that All right. Any further discussion? Ms. LaBelle. Just to add a little bit of clarity to the time Thorntons have been around that Watson Mountain area. Watson Road was the original road that Braddock's
army took from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland before they made it to Pittsburgh area, the Three Rivers area, and Braddock was killed and George Washington was the one who helped get the army back. So the Thornton family has been on a road that's been around pre-revolutionary time. Just to put that in context. Thank you. All right. This item will come back for action at the next meeting, and we will move on to item
14.07, the Department of Digital Innovation, Revisions to Policy 8655, Student Personal Device Use, presented tonight by Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair. At the last meeting, it was at a late hour, but during new business, I did bring up the possibility of doing revisions to Policy 8655, and thank you to the colleagues that supported putting it on the agenda tonight. Just to re-summarize, Dr. Spence and I have been having lots of conversations about the effectiveness of the bell-to-bell policy.
Even though it is state law, we both have had experiences in schools where we are seeing instructional time being impacted with students keeping them on their person and in their backpacks. And so we had a policy previously before the law was instated bell to bell, where we had a piece of that policy that was very prescriptive about where phones could be during instructional time and in consultation with legal counsel and also reviewing it with Dr. Spence. The amendment is posted here, and it basically just reinstates
the language of our policy before we adopted the new policy last December, and it talks about putting the devices, they're silenced during instructional time, and that they are put in a separate container or pouch, and that they are not accessible. We did add one more piece based off of some feedback that we got in between from some administrators, as well as students and teachers, that we needed to add a piece about then what to do with them as they retrieve them from the pouch or container,
so that they are still adhering to the law to then put them back away. They can't not be out during the hallway and at lunch. So the amendment outlines all of that. It does some structural changes, but it is posted in board docs, and I don't really know if I can answer any questions, but that's pretty much it. And yes. Thank you. Board members, is there any discussion? Mr. Pepper. Thank you, Madam Chair. I was going to briefly say I love this. I love this. As someone who works in a school, it is much, much less likely the student will access the phone if it's in a
pouch away from them than if it's on their person. The temptation is just too great, and I think this really enhances instructional time. I also like the piece about what to do when you're done with class because we still have to follow state law. So I absolutely love this, and I appreciate you bringing this forward. Thank you. Any further discussion? Is there an appetite to put this on consent? Well, do you have the amendment? No, it's info. It's-- Oh, it's already actioned. It's action next time. I just put it out there so you could review it. Oh, okay. Yeah. Great. So this will be placed on the consent agenda at the next meeting. Chair Chandler? Yes. Dr. Rashid. Madam Chair, I'd like to raise a question of privilege. Specifically, I'd like to ask that pursuant to Section Eight of Policy 2420,
the school board take a temperature check to determine whether we can adjourn the public meeting and move on at this time. Thank you, Chair. Okay. We have a request from Dr. Rashid to adjourn the meeting, given that it's 10:00, and by policy, we try to complete the meeting by 10:00. Anything that isn't done as of now would come back on the agenda for information at the next meeting. So thumbs up for complete the meeting, or we would adjourn the meeting. Oh, oh. Adjourn the meeting now. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Thumbs up for what? We would like-- Thumbs up for adjourn the meeting.
Thumbs down if you want to continue. Okay, we'll keep going. Thank you so much. So then we're going to consent. The next item is 14.08, Specialized Programs and Centers Committee Charter School Annual Technology Services and Support Services Contracts, presented tonight by Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Madam Chair. The contracts for this detail the services provided to Hillsboro Charter Academy and Middle School Charter School and the associated rates. It's updated annually and incorporates staff's proposed revisions. The Specialized Programs and Centers Committee reviewed it, and on June
3rd, we voted to send it to the full board. So I will defer to Mr. Smith to add any elaborations and field questions about the actual contract. Sure. So included in this item is both the technical support and the operational support services support. So if there's questions for each one of those, Mr. Lewis or I can handle those. But this is the annual agreement where the charter schools basically contract out our services to provide maintenance and repair services for technology equipment that's at that school. So it does not include replacement, it does not include refresh.
It basically just is a operational maintenance service contract, and that it's There are some red line changes. Really, the intent is to clarify the language. There's nothing structurally different about this contract than the previous ones we have done year over year previously. Thank you. Board members, any questions? Is there an appetite to put this on consent? All right. Mr. Svenson? All right. This item will be on consent at the next meeting, and we will move on with item 14.09, Student Behavior and Accountability Committee review of Policy 8210: Introduction to Student Discipline, tonight presented by Ms. LaBelle.
Thank you, Madam Chair. This is the last of our succession of three policies that are kind of banded together, and I would like to have Ms. Scanlon talk about it for us. If she's still there. Awake. Oh, I'm here. Awake. Yes, certainly. Thank you. I would be happy to. As Ms. LaBelle said, 8210 does work in concert with two other policies that were revised by the board this school year, specifically policy 8205 and 8220. There were two primary changes or recommended
revisions to Policy 8210. First, the policy has been streamlined in that there was quite a bit of information that was duplicative of information that is in other policies and actually is specifically the purpose of other policies that was removed from 8210 so that it did not duplicate, become redundant to, or in the worst case scenario, contradict the policies in which it was previously set forth. In addition, there were a number of
offenses that were added in the list of types of conduct that could subject a student to disciplinary consequences. That was really an effort to ensure that the violations that we are aware unfortunately may occur are provided for in terms of notice to our students and our families. Those were the two primary changes to Policy 8210. We did discuss Policy 8210, as you know, two
weeks ago. This was brought back as an information item, as I understand it, primarily because of SEAC's feedback that was provided to the full board. Unfortunately, that feedback was not provided to SBAC to consider, so we did not have the opportunity to consider that as a committee, and I did not have the feedback until after the meeting from two weeks ago, so I also was not prepared to react to it. But at the appropriate time, if you have any questions related to
SEAC's feedback, I would be happy to share my thoughts. Thank you. Thank you. Board members, any questions? All right. Is there an appetite to put this on consent? Oh, well, Ms. Ricardi's not here. Mr. Svenson? Oh, okay. Well, great. So we will have this come back for action next time. Thank you so much. And now we'll move on to our final information item for this evening. This is item 14.10, Student Services Committee revised Policy 8250, Bullying Prevention and Educated-- Education, excuse me, presented by Mr. Pepper.
Thank you, Madam Chair. So this is revised Policy 8250 on bullying prevention and education. It has been through the Student Services Committee. We actually took a little bit longer with this policy because of some feedback from both MSAC and SEAC. Biggest few kind of larger changes, one was a change in the definition of cyberbullying to make it a little bit more all-encompassing. Changes in the way that bullying behavior is reported, including cyberbullying, and then a few changes in what to be done as an intervention response for
bullying, and mention of the LCPS website, as well as a cross-linking to Policy 8330 on student discrimination harassment and our Policy 8035 on Title IX sex-based discrimination and sexual harassment. So those are the major changes in the policy. Thank you. Board members, are there any questions? Yes, Ms. Chernov. I just wanted to say that I thought this conversation was so thoughtful, the way that you all included the recommendations. I listened back, and I think you guys took such care with it, and I thought it was really great work. I support it.
Thanks. Mr. Svenson? Yeah, I had some questions on the-- I really appreciate the updates to the policy. I think there were some definitional questions I had where cyberbullying kind of becomes part of bullying. But then throughout the policy, there's often references to bullying/cyberbullying. So I found that a little confusing reading through, trying to understand that if cyberbullying's part of bullying, why we are breaking that out in certain instances and not others. So I was just curious if folks could
explain if there's a purpose to not incorporate just saying bullying instead of spelling out cyberbullying in particular instances. Ms. Richardson? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Sensen, for that question. I see it referenced on line 57. Is that where you're referencing where it does have the bullying/cyberbullying? That is because under the new Virginia code, it did place a little bit more emphasis on it. So we definitely do want to make sure that we're being clear about those in-person instances of bullying that take place within the school setting that we need to investigate,
as well as making sure that we apply that same process to cyberbullying. But should it be the will of the board to make the bullying definition more encompassing and not have that slash reference there. Is there another line reference other than line 57 that you can find? I guess that is a good section just for my clarification in terms of when incidents that happen outside of school property need to be reported. Is that just in instances of cyberbullying because of updates to the state
law, or would that apply to bullying that's not cyberbullying? That does also apply to bullying that is not cyberbullying. So the code update really expanded our scope of responsibility. Any time that an instance of bullying is reported outside of an LCPS setting or event that involves LCPS students, whether it's bullying, physical, in-person, verbal, or cyberbullying. Thank you. That's helpful. I think at line 63
of the red line version, it refers to incidents of cyberbullying that occur outside of school property. So if it is meant to apply to other forms of bullying, maybe it would be helpful to update there. Unless I'm misreading that. No, you are reading that correctly. And so, yes, we do need to include bullying/cyberbullying on line 63. And then I guess in terms of the slash, and this is something I can, happy to chat offline about what folks think is the best approach with the bullying/cyberbullying.
But I think it's also in the section F. There's the distinction there. And I'm sorry, one final question on it that came up in Leaf. We discussed this policy in Leaf, and folks were wondering when support services and resources are made available per section FB, if there's a particular administrator or LCPS employee who's responsible for making those resources available, and I think the question was whether that should be spelled out in policy, or if that is something that's a given, and if
so, who is that person or persons who's making that available? Certainly. Thank you for that question. That determination is typically made at the building level. So of course, all instances of bullying are reported to school administration, and then it would be the responsibility of the principal or assistant principal that receives that report to make sure that they connect to the relevant folks to provide those support services. So it would typically be members of our unified mental health team. So that would be school psychologist, school social worker, or
school counselor that would be able to provide those responsive services to students that are victims of bullying. Certainly, it's the responsibility of the building administrators to investigate the allegations, but it would be our unified mental health team members that would be supporting students directly. Thank you. That's very helpful. Thank you. Any further discussion, board members? All right, so this one will come back for action at the next meeting. And then we will move on to our item number 15, discussion
item on e-bike safety concerns, which will be presented tonight by Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you everybody for your patience. I felt this was really important to discuss tonight. And while there may be plans through the General Assembly to come up with some ideas for e-bikes, we do have a select committee sparked by the SRO discussion, and we should also discuss e-bikes here at LCPS. It's not that I know of part of the MOU at this time, but as an additional safety concern for students, it should come up in discussion.
While I understand many use e-bikes for a method of transportation, it has come to my attention that students are forming large groups and harassing students and adults on and off school property. I'm calling for courtesy and civility and setting our own rules and boundaries for our schools. I'd like to share a personal privilege, Madam Chair. I just want to put out there, when my brother was 16, he was riding his moped down a main street in town when somebody suddenly opened up their car door in his path, and he was thrown
headfirst onto the road. The police came to our home but would not tell my mother and me whether my brother was alive or not. So that was very traumatic for me, and this was many years ago. The police only told us we had to go to the hospital, and we had to go right away, and that was it.That 20-minute drive to the hospital was so traumatic, and as a 12-year-old, not knowing if my brother had survived this moped accident. Thankfully, he ended up with only scratches and minor injuries, but it could've been much worse. So now,
fast-forward to now, I share this because e-bikes have a similar risk profile. Like mopeds, they are relatively quiet, and unlike motorcycles, which I don't know if everybody knows why they're so loud, give people an audible warning. E-bikes can approach without being easily heard. Pedestrians and drivers may not realize one is coming until it's too late. The lack of sound is a real safety concern, especially in busy areas where people rely on both sight and sound to stay aware of their surroundings.
As simple as opening your car door, we can hurt somebody riding an e-bike. The e-bikes do not have loud mufflers, and you can't hear them coming. Another issue, I myself did not feel comfortable while at a crowded event at Trailside Middle School. It was a music event for Wolf Trap, and right on the perimeter at Trailside, there were large groups, middle schoolers on their e-bikes, doing wheelies with a heavy populated area. So I found that to be a problem. I saw some parents yelling at them. They were going up and down on the grass.
They were on the sidewalks. And I've spoken to other parents about this issue. While I understand we're nearing the end of the school year, I was hoping to work with LCPS, LCSO, and possibly the Board of Supervisors on this matter, and believe it warrants continued attention. With the nice weather, the presence of e-bikes in our communities has increased significantly, and it's clearly becoming a growing safety concern. I do not believe they should be on the sidewalks, especially at our schools. These e-bikes are like mopeds,
and bottom line is, I don't want to wait until somebody gets hurt or killed, and then act on it. I respectfully urge LCPS, the Board of Supervisors, and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office to consider the following: LCPS beginning of the year registration package through ParentVUE. We put safe storage in information two years ago. When parents register their students at the beginning of the year, there should be documentation in the registration packet that should discuss the safety of e-bikes for parents, and potential fines incurred if
rules are not followed. E-bikes should not be ridden on the sidewalks of our schools, especially during populated events. LCPS establish and communicate clear expectations for student and parents' use of the e-bikes, including appropriate behavior and safety standards. Parents should talk to their students about this safety. LCPS implement more consistent and meaningful consequences for the misuse or unsafe operations of the bikes. Now, this is for LCPS, Board of Supervisors, and the Loudoun County
Sheriff's Office. Provide clear guidance on where e-bikes are permitted here in Loudoun County, including distinctions between roads, sidewalks, trails, school property. Clearly establish rules for the W&OD Trail. We have Trailside Middle School right there. So they are coming on and off the trail in large groups. When the trail is basically used for people running, walking, riding their bikes, it's becoming a hazard. Loudoun County Sheriff's Office explore a registration
system for e-bikes to improve accountability and enforcement. I can only assume that this would help because if you register your e-bike and it's stolen and it's recovered, you'd be able to identify that it's yours. And then Loudoun County Sheriff's Office helmets required or a fine. The Loudoun County Sheriff should be prepared to stop students that might be causing problems on the e-bikes or have safety concerns on and off our school campuses. Now, the Loudoun County Sheriff has information out there. I have posted it myself on my Facebook, and I've talked to parents, and I've
forwarded it to many people. I encourage parents to take heed of the warnings. Addressing these issues proactively will help ensure student safety, reduce risk of pedestrians and drivers hitting the e-bikes, and provide much needed clarity for families. I want to thank you all for your attention to this matter because I take it very personal, and I think something needs to be done immediately. And unfortunately, we're at the summer, so it's like, I have solutions, but can we try and implement them? Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. And let me say, first and foremost, I'm sorry that
happened to your brother. Very terrible situation. What you're saying really speaks to me. I worry about the e-bikes a lot. We're seeing them with more frequency. I'm sure it's also because the weather is nicer. We're aware, at least, I'm aware of multiple accidents and even one death that has occurred in recent time. But I would like to ask Mr. Allen if there are some legal limitations for what we could or couldn't do in terms of, say, a ban on our property.
Thank you, Chair Chandler. I actually think Ms. Mitchell may have more up-to-date information- Oh, thank you ... on this, if I understand correctly. Or I'd be happy to speak to it also, Ms. Mitchell. I'm sorry, could you say that again, Dr. Bergen? I would be happy to speak to it, if you would rather yield to me. With the safety task force? Okay. Yes. So, thank you, Mrs. Griffiths, for your comments and for highlighting the importance of talking about safety with our students. We wholeheartedly agree. We do have a principal safety task force that meets
regularly with our Office of Safety and Security, and this has been raised by our principals as a topic of conversation. It is a concern for some of our principals, not all of our principals. In some schools, the numbers are higher. I've asked, can we quantify that? And it could be as many as 30 or 40 kids in one school, and no kids in other schools. You referenced a couple of things that I think are worth accentuating. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office has good information online for parents about
speaking with your children. Helmets are required for riders under the age of 14, or under the age of 15 rather. But they are devices that are legal, and it's not just e-bikes. It's scooters and other types of motorized devices that parents are purchasing for their children. They are legal on sidewalks, they are legal on roads. If you are obeying, like any other vehicle, you're obeying stop signs and traffic lights. You also referenced, I think it's worth accentuating that in the legislature this past spring, House Bill 1120 authorized a DMV work group. The board received a dear colleague letter today
cosigned by delegates Sing, Reed, and Srinivasan, and we have followed up, and we will have a representative from LCPS attend those meetings so that we have voice in that process. We've also initiated already a call out to other school divisions to see what their policies and practices are, because this is evolving not just in Loudoun County, but everywhere as these devices become more prolific. So we intend, and we are engaging in more conversation about electric vehicles with our students, and staying in close contact
with our principals about what their concerns are and their suggestions for better enforcement of good safety practices for all. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that. And I'm not sure if this makes a huge difference, but the registration packet at the beginning of the year that all the parents sign off on. They would have to read it, they would have to sign off on it, and understand we would need to have listed what the discipline might be, what the fines might be in the registration
packet if something were to happen on school property. I think that's very important, and maybe it'll curb some of the issues we have now. So I feel like that's a good start. If we could start with that, I would really appreciate that, any way we could do that, whether it's got to go through the select committee or what. Just tell us how we can incorporate that into the registration packet for the beginning of the year. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, yes, Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Griffiths, I think it'd be really great if you could draft up a policy and work with staff to
figure out what that might look like so we actually have something to respond to. We have really serious e-bike issues here in Sterling, and particular neighbors that my dogs love chasing after the e-bikes, which is a whole another issue. But I think it'd be really great if you work with staff to see if we can develop a policy and give us something to respond to from an action perspective, and/or run it through a committee, if that makes sense. I don't know which one would do that, but- Select. Well, no. Probably not. I
am just now suggesting a resolution, because when we did the safe storage, we did it by resolution. Oh, there you go. Ms. Ricardi, were you able to make your point? Would you like to speak further? I don't want to interrupt you. No, I'm good. Thanks. Okay. Ms. Mitchell, could we loop back to my original question? Are you able to offer us any further clarification on some of the conversations you've had? Yes, thank you for the question, Ms. Chandler. So what we could do in terms of not having to write a policy specifically for e-bikes, it can be
included in one of our current policies that we've been discussing in terms of engaging in reckless behavior that creates a risk of injury to self or others, which is a part of our introduction to discipline policy. So we've been having conversation about including that as a part of that policy, where there already is a level of responses based on a violation. So if students are engaging in dangerous behavior on school grounds, we could address it that way. That's very timely, considering that policy is coming back at the
next meeting. Right? Ms. Labelle. Question for Ms. Mitchell. Have you mentioned this to Ms. Scanlan yet, or should I break the news? Well, Ms. Labelle, Ms. Scanlan was the one that provided that information, so now I've been called out. It was actually her information. Now I know what we're going to do at our next Student Behavior and Accountability meeting. Thank you. You got that, Ross? Wait. Actually, so this policy is on the agenda for the next meeting, 8210, right? Which it would be appropriate to add some language?
8210 is the policy that we have been discussing, so I'm actually getting ready to pull that back up. Yeah. So, Ms. Labelle. And our next SBAC meeting is Monday, the 22nd. So we might be able to get it in there. I don't think it's necessary to send it back to committee, because we just had a presentation on it. And so I think it's possible- Yeah, but we have to put the language in there that you're looking for ... Well, I don't think we have to. Oh, okay. I think we have the capability to make amendments and submit amendments so that we can complete this work before the
recess and have this in place before the new school year. So I actually think this is the best way to do it. Okay. So please- 8210, right? All righty. Yep, thank you. Mr. Pepper? Thank you, Madam Chair. I love this discussion, actually. I know that we, in my district, just had a terrible accident involving an e-bike within the last week. So, how very timely of us to do something. I would also encourage us to remember that our focus as a board is still on education. And I know, I'm going to use an example growing up. I grew up in Michigan. It's got the most boater registrations in the country outside of Florida. It's a fun fact for Ross over there.
He's laughing. But one of the things that we had to do was in PE class, take a boating safety course. I would love to offer just the opportunity, even as we start to see these things become more prevalent, some sort of e-bike safety added into the curriculum just as a thought, because we're here truly for education, and I don't know the outcome. Yeah, this could be something for C&I just to think about. Obviously, there's so much else on our plates, but I love this idea of starting with policy and just how timely we are with what's going on. And I would also like to make mention of not just e-bikes, it's those little
scooters that have lawnmower engines that the kids pop wheelies on as they come down the street. In some ways, I find those much more dangerous, particularly as a driver of a high-profile vehicle, making sure I can see them. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. Ms. Mitchell, did I see you wanted to offer a clarification? Yeah. Well, I just had one more comment back to what Mrs. Griffiths had asked about parent acknowledgement. So also part of the red line that you'll see in 8210, there is a section where it states that parents and guardians are asked to review and acknowledge receipt of the SR&R each year, which is also covered under that
policy. So it's accompanied in what you are speaking to. We don't have to add it to ParentVUE, is that what you're saying? Well, when parents sign off, part of that is the SR&R, which this is included in that as part of that acknowledgement. So if you didn't need to call out these specific mention of e-bikes, because there won't be a separate policy, it's covered under 8210, which they have to acknowledge as a part of the SR&R. And that's what parents sign off on at the beginning of each year. Can we get copies of that? Can we get copies of what that might entail that goes out to parents?
Of what they have to sign off on? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's like a packet, right? Yes. Yep. That's part of the SR&R, yes. All right. So I'll just send you a follow-up. Thank you. Thank you. Any further discussion on e-bikes? All right. Thank you so much for the lively conversation. Let's move on with our board member comments and committee reports. We'll start this evening with Ms. Ricardi. Oh, boy. Let me get there. Okay. Over the past two weeks, I've had the opportunity to attend and participate in a variety of events celebrating student achievement, literacy, sustainability, and educational excellence across our community.
I attended the LCPS Green Teams Program Showcase, which was right here in this room, and packed, I might add, which was really, really cool, where students, green teams, and outdoor learning fellows highlighted sustainability initiatives taking place across the division. The program has grown significantly and, as Dr. Spence had mentioned earlier, expanded from 25 to 60 participating schools this year, which is really exciting. Students shared projects ranging from school gardens and outdoor learning spaces to food recovery efforts, habitat restoration, and creative
trash on shows, like fashion shows, which is really kind of cute, demonstrating their commitment to environmental stewardship and positive community impact. I also attended the Sterling-Roaring Run Annual Awards and Scholarship Night, which recognized some of the brightest and hardest-working students in our community from Forest Grove Elementary, Guilford, Rolling Ridge, Sterling Elementary, Sully Elementary, Sterling Middle School, and Parkview High School, and also several schools in the Algonkian district. In support of literacy initiatives, I spoke at the Rally for Reading Block Party, which was a lot of fun and a wonderful community event that promoted
reading through free books, visits from talented authors and an illustrator, and performances by Wolf Trap artists. The event highlighted the importance of literacy and creating opportunities for students and families to engage with reading, and that was at the Sterling Community Center. Additionally, I attended and spoke at Rolling Ridge Elementary School's Golden Jubilee celebration, commemorating the school's 50th anniversary. The celebration featured hands-on STEM experiences through Amazon's Think Big program and a new shade canopy for their students while honoring five decades of
educational excellence and community partnership.I also participated in the Finance and Operations Committee meeting, which we discussed a lot of those items this evening, which was really good. And then finally, the Performance Monitoring Committee meeting, where we received updates on the Department of Academics annual stakeholder survey results and engaged in discussions regarding the division's data dashboard and ongoing performance monitoring efforts. And I look forward to celebrating graduations at a number of our schools, including Parkview and Rock Ridge, coming up here in the next week. It's a really exciting time.
Then I know it's going to be a lot of fun for everyone. So congratulations to all of our graduates, and I hope everybody has a really great summer. Thank you. Mr. Svendsen? Thank you, Madam Chair. With the late hour, I'll keep it brief, but it's been a fun season of celebration here at LCPS, and I've enjoyed attending some of the events that Ms. Ricardi just spoke about. Seeing the green teams and the gallery walk was really fun. It's great to see what our students and educators are doing to improve their school communities, and it was fun to see folks sharing their ideas
and taking the ideas from other schools home with them to their home school. And I know everyone enjoyed the ice cream at that event. So, thank you. And I also wanted to say that it was really meaningful to be at the SEAC Awards and to have our students and educators, and teams working at our schools recognized and celebrated for their work in making an inclusive school environment and school division. That was a really special event. And I also really enjoyed attending the campus celebration and celebrating the achievements of our seniors who will be
heading off to their next adventure, and looking forward to doing the same with several graduations coming up next week. And wishing everybody a wonderful official last week of school. Thank you. Ms. Chernov? Thank you, Madam Chair. One of the highlights of the last few weeks was attending and presenting an award at the Blue Ridge Area GLAMMY Awards with Ms. Griffiths and Dr. Spence, where students across the region came together to celebrate excellence in theater arts. I am especially proud of my Leesburg high schools, Heritage, Loudoun County, and Tuscarora, who were recognized for various
awards for their outstanding productions. What probably was the best part, though, was just how much these kids support each other and the community that they have built. It's really exciting to see the amazing accomplishments in the arts in Loudoun. One unique experience, I got to join Mr. Slevin and Dr. Ellis and Ms. Katie Clark from Special Programs to go to Hunters Woods Elementary School in Fairfax County and learn about their Arts and Sciences magnet program. It was impressive to see how deeply arts integration and STEM learning and
project-based experiences are embedded throughout their school. We got to hear directly from students about their learning experience, which reinforced the value of creating engaging opportunities that help students discover their interests and strengths. So as chair of the Special Programs and Centers Committee, I'm looking forward to continuing conversations about how we can have some of these innovative opportunities potentially here in Loudoun County. It's also the place I first got my teaching job, so that was a full circle moment for me. This past week, I was honored to attend several
recognition events that have been mentioned: the Campus Celebration, the North Star School Celebration, the Recovery School Rise Academy Awards Picnic, and the SEAC Awards. And each of these events highlighted just how many beautiful pathways and programs we have for our different students, and just that we do really great work for kids here. So that was really exciting. And I also enjoyed kicking off graduation season officially with the Academies of Loudoun graduation with Dr. Spence, Chair Chandler, Mr. Pepper, where we shook over 750 hands. So it was very, very wonderful.
In our Special Programs and Centers Committee, we continued to review the second half of the special program, so JROTC and then the Academies programs, AOS, AET, and MATA. We had several student speakers who came to speak out about the lottery admissions process. So much of the conversation did center around that process, and it was a very respectful dialogue and lots of reflection about where we're at in those programs and where there can be growth. So, happy last week of school, have a fabulous summer,
and we will see you-- Well, I will see you, because I will be missing the next meeting for a family engagement after the recess. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chernov. I guess I'll jump right in. I do think this is the happiest season at LCPS, and just there's so much joy and celebration of the wonderful things that our students are doing. And I will, like Ms. Ricardi mentioned, I had never attended the Sterling Ruritan Awards before, and it really felt like a true hometown event, which is rare for
Sterling. And to be in a space that's existed since the '50s in an organization that's existed since the '50s, and that actually recognizes the achievement and character that's exhibited by a student at every one of our Sterling schools, and it was just really a special evening. I also was very happy to join Ms. Richardson at the Project Search graduation, which was amazing. And mostly because some of our alumni served as emcees for the event, and they were so
fun and charming and really made it a special evening to celebrateThe partnership that we have with Lansdowne and how they're supporting our students in really gaining true workforce skills and preparing students for joining the workforce, and it was just an incredible event. At the joint committee for the board of supervisors and school board, we talked about new opportunities for engagement with the sheriff's office and LCPS in providing more support for GEDs, which I think is phenomenal and will make a lot of difference.
I'm glad that we're able to start working on that. And we also talked about the snow removal and how, in the event of another snow creek storm, we could work together better to serve our community. So, I also had the opportunity in the last few weeks to meet with students who had actually worked to design their own financial literacy textbook, which was amazing. Our students are always doing great things. And, like Mr. Svendsen, enjoyed this campus celebration in SEAC. I had the opportunity to speak to the LCPS planners
forum, which was a very wonderful experience, and to be able to connect with employees who are doing important work that's often contentious, and celebrate their contributions. I think the North Star graduation was the best one I've been to so far. And the academy's graduation, of course, all of it was just wonderful. And I'm about to run out of time, so I'll pass it on to you, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to be very short. Yay to the Glammys with Ms. Chernoff, my first time attending. Justin Daniel and Addie Benko did a magnificent job. I'm happy the summer break is here.
I'm excited for all our students that are graduating, whether it's elementary, middle school, high school. I look forward to going to three high school graduations, one middle school, two elementary, and hopefully some 250th celebrations. And that's it. I'm done. Thank you. Mr. Pepper? Thank you, Madam Chair. Wow, this is such a whirlwind of a season. There's just so much going on. I went to a lot of these events that have already been mentioned. The Green Team Gallery Walk was amazing. I know I mentioned it already. The salad was good, the ice cream was better, so thank you to Brewster's. That was followed on the night after by
Choirpalooza. If you guys haven't been to Choirpalooza, it was at Lightridge, but it's actually the Willard Middle School Choir. Dr. Rashid's going to tell me that that's her school. But they did an early Y2K cover concert, and I was jamming to the songs of my not-so-youth youth. The production values were tremendous, and I just had so much fun there. That was followed by the campus celebration, hearing from Dr. Akinbasote, who just embodies the best of LCPS
in her journey. It was amazing. The SEAC Awards, it's so great to see just how much inclusivity and belonging are a part of this community. My first graduation as an LCPS board member was the academy's, and there was a lot of hands to shake, you are not wrong. But it has been just a whirlwind of weeks. I've got three more graduations next week. I'm very excited to check out the construction of Parkview later on this week with Chair Chandler. But it's been a very busy season. I'm excited to
go play some Minute to Win It in a kindergarten class tomorrow. I don't know how that's going to turn out, but I'm very competitive and I think I could take some six-year and seven-year-olds, or five and six-year-olds, but who knew? Anyway, it is late, so I'm going to send it over to Dr. Rashid. Yes, indeed, it is late. At this month's Curriculum and Instruction Committee meeting, we learned about both high-tech and low-tech initiatives. LCPS will pilot the Google Notebook LM and AI program that will use only class instructional materials as source material to generate summaries, quizzes, podcasts, and other learning aids. The division will also implement a low-tech pilot at some elementary schools
to test alternative tech models for K through two students, along with device carts to keep Chromebooks in the classroom. I know we talked about that too. We will see if these efforts provide better balanced instruction. And additionally, we did learn about the growth of the math resource teacher programs, along with various instructional resources. LCPS is looking for increased math competency for elementary and middle school students. So you may also have seen the recent LCPS email regarding the Math Summer Boost program. The math department would like to provide middle school students with
extra support and practice on math concepts over the summer, and as a parent, I am excited about this summer resource. This C&I meeting was very detailed, so I encourage you to go to Board Docs to see all your presentation materials. I know you're going to run home right now and do it. So this committee will move to Wednesday meetings after the summer, with the next meeting scheduled for August 5th. And also, I've been able to celebrate with several schools and committee as the school year ends. At Independence High School, I attended the campus senior celebration for first-generation college-bound students. I went to the SEAC Awards event to recognize exceptional individuals who have
supported special education this year. They had a wonderful performance. I even got to visit with HAMP-SI students at Briarwoods to talk about NOVA's dental assisting program, and it's been super busy, but I'm proud to see how much LCPS students have accomplished this year. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Labelle? I will try to be brief because I know how Dr. Rashid feels about staying late. One more little thing about Watson Road. I remembered when Mrs. Ricardi and Mr. Pepper were talking about Parkview, the original road
that Braddock traveled that led pastWatson Road and Watson Mountain actually runs right through Parkview property. So you might want to put a sign up, a historical sign. That would be great. You do it. Yeah. May and June, this time of year, is truly a season of celebrations, and I know my colleagues have already talked about North Star and SEAC awards. They were absolutely amazing.
And I attended two that nobody else has mentioned yet, so I'll just limit myself to those two. I went to the SOS Awards, Spotlight On Success. That's where our special ed students go and work at Inova Hospital. We had six students there this year as interns, and three of them were hired by the hospital. One that was working and will continue to work in the
department that deals with hearts, another in a cafeteria, and another in supply. The other three are planning to go on to college, one going through Nova and then going to George Mason, and the other two are going to George Mason. So that was amazing. The other place that I went that nobody else has mentioned was the CAST Awards that were held right here in this room, and it was the 20th anniversary of the CAST program. And I was there when it started. I was the first transition teacher they hired.
But what was really neat was we invited Dr. Melissa Hartman, who was an LD supervisor that year in special education, and she had the vision of a transition program. And she hired Mary Young, who also attended, as the first transition specialist. So it was awesome to see all these kids, 20 years of kids going through CAST, the CAST program, coming out, finding jobs, living independently. It was really a blessing. So those were two,
and I'm hoping that, John, you realize that next week there's going to be a lot more hands to shake than what you've already shook. So I'm going to be at Tusky, and I'm going to be at Woodgrove and at Valley. Thank you so much. Bye-bye. She's leaving, I can tell. You guys. That was a very joyful experience. Okay. Before we go off the rails, school board members, is there any new business?
All right, seeing none, this-- I don't even remember what day it is, right? Seeing that there's no new business, the June 9th, 2026 Loudoun County School Board meeting is now adjourned. Please drive home safely. You guys