Prince William County Public Schools

School Board Meeting May 2, 2018

Select this link to view the agenda on the Electronic School Board webpage.

Select this link to watch the School Board meeting on PWCS-TV.

The School Board Approved:

• A contract award for fresh bread items to Schmidt Baking Company, Inc.;
• A contract award for milk and dairy products to Lehigh Valley Dairies;
• A contract award for the window replacement phases 1 and 2 at Rippon Middle School to Athena Construction Group, Inc., in the total amount of $2,687,386;
• FY 2018 State Technology Grant - Intent to Reimburse;
• Recognition of June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month;
• A natural gas pipeline easement at Bennett Elementary School;
• The payrolls for March 2018;
• A recommendation to name the music wing at Stonewall Jackson High School the "Wanda Boley Music Wing";
• The School Board meeting minutes for April 18, 2018; and
• The appointment of Babur B. Lateef, M.D. to serve as representative to the Prince William County and Schools Joint Audit Committee for 2018.

  Student Matters:

  Kate Arnold, student representative on the School Board, made the following remarks:

• May 1, 2018 was the deadline for our college-bound students to commit to their university of choice.
• Miss Arnold attended and spoke at the 2018 retiree ceremony.
• The Addams Family Musical was performed at Woodbridge High School. Everyone was reminded of the beginning of concert season and encouraged to attend.
• The Occoquan District town hall meeting with Mrs. Jessie was held at Woodbridge High School. A variety of important topics concerning students were discussed, including the importance of making materials available to students, sharing information about the resource officer assigned to their school, and students requesting increased accessibility to the Board and it's functioning,
• Woodbridge District town hall with Ms. Williams will be held at 6 p.m on May 9, at Freedom High School, to hear the concerns of students. Our final two town halls are the Neabsco District town hall on May 15 at Gar-field High School, and the Brentsville District town hall on May 24 at Brentsville District High School.
• The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation recognized Bull Run Middle School and Stonewall Jackson High School for their outstanding music programs.

  Magin Sanchez, alternate student representative, spoke about Battlefield's Acts of Random Kindness Club. He plans to visit the BEST club at Battlefield High School this month. Yesterday, the Potomac Leadership Seminar class held a unified field day for over 100 students from Potomac, Hylton, Freedom, and Woodbridge High Schools who would not have had another opportunity, in view of their disabilities.

  Citizens' Comment Time:

  Citizens addressed the School Board on the following topics:

• Leadership;
• Employee treatment;
• Districtwide 3D Design Challenge;
• Suicide Awareness Walk;
• Internal Audit/conflict of interest;
• Ombudsman; and
• Colgan baseball media.

  Staff Presentations and Topics:

• Best practices at The Governor's School @ Innovation Park that have resulted in the school being recognized for its premier innovation and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning. Select link to see PowerPoint presentation.
• Proposed revision of Policy 741, "Corporal Punishment."

  Superintendent's Time:

• Woodbridge High School is ranked in the top 100 in the nation for teaching personal finance by WISE, a nonprofit that promotes financial literacy education.

• Alvey Elementary School 5^th grader Kaitlyn Torrey is the Junior Division Grand Prize winner of the Prince William County-Manassas Regional Science Fair. Her winning project investigated different water purification methods.
• Fred Lynn Middle School won the annual Battle of the Brains for the third consecutive year.
  • They competed against Beville, Stonewall, and Hampton Middle Schools on questions that test the knowledge they will need for upcoming SOL exams.
• Kody Frye, a senior at Stonewall Jackson High School, is one of only 100 students selected nationwide to participate in the 2018 Disney Dreamers Academy, where he earned a summer internship at E-S-P-N.
• A Ronald Reagan Middle School team wowed the crowds and judges at this year's Virginia Odyssey of the Mind state finals, earning the championship title in the Middle School Division, and launching them to the world finals in Iowa.
• Hylton High School student Daniella Saforo was selected State Secretary for the Virginia Student Councils Association. Hylton High also received the National Council of Excellence Award for the 10^th consecutive year.
• The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation has recognized Stonewall Jackson High and Bull Run Middle for demonstrating exceptional commitment and access to music education.
  • Both received the "Support Music Merit Award," which is given to less than one-fifth of one percent of schools nationwide.
• Speaking of Stonewall Jackson High School, the concert choir earned a first-place gold at a recent choral festival in Nashville.
  • The vocal ensemble also won first place and the Adjudicator's Trophy, which is the highest award you can earn at the festival.
  • Congratulations to the students and to choral teacher, Wanda Boley.

• Two members of the Freedom High School Forensics Team brought home honors from the State Forensics Championship Tournament.
  • Alexa Zaldivar placed second in original oratory; and
  • Genesis Villanueva placed third in poetry interpretation.
  • Overall, the Freedom Forensics team tied for ninth place in the state.

• Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week.
  • On behalf of the School Board and Leadership Team, I extend our sincere thanks to our teaching staff for all that they do both in and out of the classroom.
  • Great student achievement is only possible through the skill, assistance, and encouragement of great teachers, so please thank a teacher.

• I had the opportunity to celebrate with students and teachers at several School of Excellence celebrations recently. Congratulations to Belmont, Bennett, Glenkirk, Gravely, and Marshall Elementary Schools!
• Finally, I am happy to tell you that all three major bond rating services gave a Triple-A rating to 130 million dollars in county bonds that are being issued to finance our school construction projects.
  • This continues our streak of top financial ratings that very few in the country receive.
  • It's a testament to the confidence that the rating agencies and the financial community have in the strong financial stewardship provided by Prince William County Public Schools and the county.

• This is not just something to be proud of, it also means we pay a lower interest for financing our school construction debt, a savings to taxpayers.

Volume 13, Number 16 - Publication date: May 3, 2018