Prince William County Public Schools

School Board Meeting of April 24, 2019

View the agenda on the Electronic School Board webpage.
Watch the School Board meeting on PWCS-TV.

Positively PWCS:

Each School Board meeting begins with presentations about the good things that our schools are accomplishing. These presentations are intended to focus on how we are preparing our students academically and socially for success in college and careers.

• Fitzgerald Elementary School students explained how they have used drones, purchased through a grant from SPARK the Education Foundation, to learn in their classrooms.

The School Board Approved:

• Waiving provisions of Policy 124, "Student Representative(s) to the School Board," relating to the timing of the selection process for the 2019-20 school year;
• The change order to contract S-LB-18600 to Dustin Construction, Inc., for the construction of the Parkway Elementary School in the amount of $569,571;
• The award of a sole source contract for an HMO Benefit Plan to Kaiser Permanente;
• The recommendation to name the story room at John D. Jenkins Elementary School in honor of Ernestine Jenkins;
• May 6-10, 2019, as "Teacher Appreciate Week (PDF)" and May 7. 2019, as "National Teacher Day";
• The School Board Meeting minutes for April 3, 2019 (PDF); and
• Adoption of Policy 180 (PDF), "Office of the Ombudsman."

Citizen Comments:

Citizens addressed the School Board on the following topics:

• Suicide Awareness Walk;
• Y Street and their partnership with Virginia Schools to help make schools 100% tobacco free; and
• Teacher Appreciation Week and summer programs for kids offered by a local restaurant.

Student Matters:

• Annabel Bergeron, alternate student representative, spoke on behalf of Sasan Faraj.
• Students at Woodbridge discussed access to journal databases, and highlighted the great work of their school librarians.
• Annabel also congratulated the PWCS students who placed at the Future Business Leaders of America's state conference.

Presentation Topics:

• Information on counseling services that are provided to students by Youth For Tomorrow (PDF)
  

Superintendent's Time:

• I had the honor of attending the SPARKING STEAM Introduce a Girl to Steam Day on April 4 at Colgan High School. Nearly 500 middle school girls and their parents attended to find out more about careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Thank you to SPARK, our education foundation, many community businesses and to Gary Simms of Wells Fargo, who brought the idea of a STEAM event to the Division about five years ago.
• Spring is a great time to catch our talented students in a musical or theatrical production. You will not be disappointed!
  • Reagan Middle School presented "Willie Wonka Junior" earlier this month. The cast, crew and adults all did a phenomenal job. I even got pulled up onto the stage to participate.
  • I also attended "Once on this Island" presented by Potomac Senior High School. Bravo to the entire cast, crew and volunteers under the outstanding direction of Taryn Lane.
  • I also had the pleasure of attending the performance of The Addams Family at Osbourn Park High School. The staging, lighting, choreography, sounds, sets, makeup and amazing costumes all helped to create an unbelievable night!
• Battlefield High School invited me to check out International Night, which featured an international fashion show, musical performances, and food from across the globe. Kirt Boyd also did an excellent job emceeing the event.
• Battle of the Brains took place the week before Spring Break. I stopped by to check out the competition between Hampton, Beville, Stonewall and Fred Lynn Middle Schools. Congratulations to Fred Lynn Middle School on their fourth consecutive win.
• I've also enjoyed many sports competitions across PWCS, including wrestling, lacrosse, tennis, soccer, and faculty versus students in basketball and volleyball.
• Congratulations to Penn Elementary School, Porter Traditional School, and Springwoods Elementary School for earning School of Excellence recognition. I had the pleasure of attending celebrations for these three schools over the past few weeks.
• The Forest Park High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America organization invited me to an appreciation dinner for the Prince William County Police. The students did a fantastic job showing their appreciation for the hard work our police officers do every day.
• The Project Lead the Way programs at Patriot High School and Woodbridge High School have been named distinguished schools. They are among only six in the state and 340 schools in the country being honored for their commitment to increasing student access, engagement, and achievement in their PLTW programs.
• Congratulations to Catey Borden, a language arts teacher at Rippon Middle School, who has received a Fulbright Scholarship Award. The Fulbright Scholarship Award is one of the most prestigious national academic awards for undergraduate students in the United States.
• Right before Spring Break I had the opportunity to surprise the student body at Osbourn Park High School.