Prince William County Public Schools

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    • September 5, 2018

    Board Briefs
    • September 7, 2018

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    School Board Meeting of September 5, 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.

    Positively PWCS:

    • Each School Board meeting will begin 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.
      • Presentation by Travis Graham, recent PWCS Graduation Academy graduate; Dara Dugger, the director of Office of Student Management and Alternative Programs; Leslie Johnson, program coordinator; and Joy Hill, teacher.
      • Poem presentation by recent PACE West graduate, Kristin Martin.

      The School Board Approved:

    • The updated authorization for signature in the absence of the Superintendent with the Department of Education. The designees are Mrs. Goss, Mr. Imon, Mr. Mallard, and Mr. Wallingford;
    • Recognizing October as "Energy Action Month" as proclaimed by the President and United States Department of Energy;
    • The Head Start Program Continuation Grant that provides Head Start opportunities to economically disadvantaged students and their families;
    • The Head Start Program cost-of-living allocation that provides federal funding to offset the cost of benefits and salaries associated with the raise that the School Board provided for FY19;
    • Revision of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Prince William County Police Department and Prince William County Public Schools to reflect minor legal issues regarding school resource officers' interactions in schools;
    • The Memorandum of Understanding between Prince William County Public Schools and the Prince William County Police Department in regard to selection, training, and equipping of armed elementary school Community Safety Officers;
    • The Memorandum of Understanding between the Virginia Career Works Northern Region and the Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Board and Prince William County Public Schools to establish a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship among the agencies and to set forth the relative responsibilities of the agencies as they relate to the implementation of the individual and mutual duties, obligations, and responsibilities under the Workforce Investment Act;
    • The recommendation to name the courtyard at Independence Nontraditional School for Wayne Mallard. View the support of recommendation from Rita Goss;

    • Continuation of the National External Diploma Program Agency Site Agreement and Assurances between the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems and Prince William County Public Schools Adult Learning Center

    • September 15-October 15, 2018 as "National Hispanic Heritage Month";
    • October 15-19, 2018 as "National School Lunch Week";
    • The Practicum Participation Agreement between George Mason University and Prince William County Public Schools that provides continuing clinical field experience for athletic training students and supplemental athletic training care for participating high school programs;
    • The applications for Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Program for Bel Air, Glenkirk, and Gravely Elementary Schools;
    • The provision of complimentary lunches for uniformed police officers at school sites;
    • June 2018 payroll in the amount of $56,007,889.51 as shown on the recapitulation sheet, pursuant to Virginia Code § 22.2-122(C);
    • July 2018 payroll in the amount of $52,404,912.51 as shown on the recapitulation sheet, pursuant to Virginia Code § 22.2-122(C);
    • Summer contract awards during the period of June 21, 2018, through September 5, 2018, during which there were no awards exceeding $250,000;
    • October 1-5, 2018, as "Virginia Farm-to-School Week";
    • The School Board Meeting Minutes for June 18, 2018;
    • The School Board Meeting Minutes for June 20, 2018;
    • The appointment of Robin Morrow as the representative for the Interim Chairman At-Large on the Safe Schools Advisory Council for a term effective August 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020;
    • The reappointment of Ann Nuzzo as the representative for the Brentsville District; Kalai Kandasamy as the representative for the Coles District; Victoria Cole-Rolan as the representative for the Neabsco District, and Cathy Strittmater as representative for the Potomac District on the Safe Schools Advisory Council for a term effective July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020;
    • The appointments of Angela Cominskey as the representative for the Neabsco District and Shelly White as the representative for the Woodbridge District on the Special Education Advisory Council for a term effective July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2020; and
    • The reappointment of Sarah Matthews as the representative for the Brentsville District, the reappointment of Cynthia Buckley as the representative for the Gainesville District, and the reappointment of Jason Caron as the representative for the Occoquan District on the Special Education Advisory Council for a term effective July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020.

    Student Matters:

    • Sasan Faraj, student representative, discussed his overarching goals for his year on the School Board. His main goal is to identify the top concerns of students and ensure that the School Board members are fully aware of them while ensuring that the Board's perspectives and decisions are understood by the students. Sasan also discussed the possibility of creating a Google form for students to use to connect with the student representatives and express their concerns and questions.
    • Annabel Bergeron, alternate student representative, expressed her desire to create a connection with students throughout the county so that she can better represent them and make them feel supported.
    • Wilfredo Villatoro, alternate student representative, thanked the School Board members for the opportunity to work alongside them and the other student representatives. Wilfredo discussed the importance of communication and how he will focus on communication with students about how and why the School Board makes the decisions that it does.

    Citizens' Comment Time:

    Citizens addressed the School Board on the following topics:

    • Firearm safety education;
    • Discussion of desire to focus on educational accomplishments and challenges being faced by the Prince William County School Division during School Board meetings;
    • "Red for ED" pledge; and
    • Invitation to the School Board and district supervisors to work with Why, Incorporated and their discussion series called "Our Community Matters" which aims to address topics such as mental health, avoiding gang violence, and internet safety.

    Staff Presentations:

    • The Prince William County School Board reviewed the 2019 Legislative Priorities PowerPoint presentation in preparation for the 2019 legislative session that will convene on January 9, 2019.

    Superintendent's Time:

    Dr. Walts shared the following remarks:

    • I'm pleased to welcome everyone to an exciting new school year. As I traveled around the Division since opening day, I've already seen students and staff members engaged in teaching, learning, and enjoying the start of school-with good reason.
    • Now, as I do every year, I'd like to share my top 10 reasons for everyone to be excited about our new school year
    • I want to take a few moments to address some important issues for employees that have been brought to my attention. We are now working on regulation changes on several items:
    • First, on employee leave: We plan to allow staff to roll over two personal days to the next year. That will allow a total of five accumulated personal days instead of the current three, before being converted to sick leave.
    • Also, as covered in a new, forthcoming regulation, employees who must report at their regular time when a delayed opening or early release is called because of inclement weather will be allowed to use any available leave (annual, personal, or leave without pay) without the required notice to offset their absence/tardiness. Classified employees who are not eligible for annual leave may use their sick leave. This is the only exception to the sick leave regulation and would not be available for those employees considered essential personnel.
    • Although not required by Virginia Code, we will be reminding principals that teachers are to receive a duty-free lunch period, except in emergency situations.
    • Additionally, two of our high schools-Potomac and Patriot, are piloting the delivery of interim grades online, following an electronic notification. The notifications will include auto-dialer messages, so anyone who can't access the interim online will be able to request a hard copy.
    • Now, it wouldn't be right to start the year without announcing some of our more recent accomplishments.
      • Battlefield High School's philharmonic orchestra will perform at Carnegie Hall next
      • Lisa Jacobsmeyer, an ESOL teacher at Henderson Elementary School, has been named a 2019 Global Learning Fellow by the National Education Association Foundation.
      • LoriAnn Pawlik, of Penn Elementary School, is one of four Virginia finalists for the 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The award is regarded as the nation's top honor for mathematics and science teachers. The final awardees for science and math for each state will be announced next year.
      • Supervisor of threat assessment, Dolores Robison, has been invited to serve on a student safety work group. It was created as part of Governor Northam's reestablished Children's Cabinet. The group will be responsible for making recommendations to the Governor that will support the safety of our students.
      • April 1, 2019. This is a huge honor and great tribute to the outstanding talent of our students and orchestra director, Zachery Saunders.
      • I am pleased to announce that Kilby Elementary has been awarded another three-year
      • 21st Century grant by the Virginia Department of Education for after-school academic enrichment programs. The total grant award is $200,000.
    • These are just the start of the many great things-including countless student accomplishments-that will be happening this year. I think we can agree that they are Positively PWCS.

    Policies:

    First Readings - No action is required on first readings.

    School Board Meeting Information:

    Individuals who wish to address the School Board under Citizens' Time should notify the Board Clerk in writing at P.O. Box 389, Manassas, VA 20108; by phone at 703-791-8709; or by email at pwcsclerk@pwcs.edu prior to noon on the day of the Board meeting and will be placed on the list of speakers. Or, individuals may also sign onto the list of speakers maintained at the entrance to the School Board meeting room at the beginning of a regular Board meeting, but prior to 6:55 p.m. on the evening of the meeting. Please provide your name, address, phone number, and topic you would like to speak about. Any deviation from these procedures shall be at the discretion of the Chairman. All speakers must provide the School Board Clerk with their address and phone number in order to verify their residency and permit the Clerk to contact them if necessary. Upon request, the Clerk will not release to the public the address and phone number of the speaker.