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Notes from Board of Education Meeting, 11/9/21
The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 was streamed live on ccboe.com and aired live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOs Channel 12. The meeting will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs .
The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Individual names are spelled to the best of my ability.
Executive session – 11 a.m.
Call to order – 1 p.m.
Superintendent’s update to the Board - Report
Board Member updates
- Herd - Visit several schools. Ms Ford at Lackey is amazing. Attended Legislative breakfast and it was productive. McDonough Little Women performance. LaPlata won it's first play off game in school history. Visiting all MS and HS by end of year.
- Brown - Lackey play "Stop Light"; Blue Print subcommittee on Policy
- Lukas - Legislative breakfast. Fine Arts education advisory panel for the state. Attended plays Little Women and Stop Light. Attended state play off games. Attended virtual Meet & Greet for new teachers,
- McGraw - Congratulations to thespians at Lackey and McDonough for two great plays.
- Wilson - Play at Laplata HS "Trapped" and McDonough Little Women. North Point is coming up with Romeo and Juliet and Stone is doing Shakespeare in the Parking Lot St. Charles "As She Likes It" and Westlake is doing a Hitchcock. Virtial New teacher Meet & Greet. Legislative breakfast. Partnerships with our parents/guardians and community organizations are important and needed to reinforce positive activities. Feedback from public needed for use of COVID funds.
Education Association of Charles County (EACC) update - Report
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) update - Report
FY2021 Independent financial audit: CliftonLarsenAllen
Fall assessments (i-Ready)
- Fall Assessments November 2021
- Lukas - 16 counties participating. Does I-Ready replace another test? Roberts - we didn't do a pre and post test this year.
- Herd - Class implementation? Navarro - next presentation but basically don't stay focused on remediation and exposure to grade level material will help those below.
- Brown - Thank you
- McGraw - Thank you; can reports be grouped by class? Yes. When and how to unpack date? Next presentation.
Instructional programs to support students impacted by the pandemic
- Three Year Plan November 9t
- Very lengthy well put together report. very few questions of substance
Project status update
Middle School Redistricting
- Superintendent Revised Recommendation
- Hancock - Doesnt think the two Laplata neighborhoods should be sent to Piccowaxen. Confirmation on which blocks are which.
- Lukas - Number of students in those blocks. 43 1nd 15.
- Abell - hard time moving forward with uprooting existing residents from schools for new development that hasn't even started yet . More apt to move new development residents to Piccowaxen as they are developed and until next middle school is built.
Recognition — 4:30 p.m.
- Students
- Eric Thompson, Grade 12, Career Readiness, Robert D. Stethem Educational Center, Principal: Curry Werkheiser
- Peyton Lewis, Grade 8, Academic Achievement, Matthew Henson Middle School, Principal: Christina Caballero
- Lionel Saravia, Grade 5, Academic Achievement, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Elementary School, Principal: Kevin Jackson, Sr.
- Yaretzy Alegria-Hernandez, Grade 5, Personal Responsibility, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School, Principal: Orlena Whatley
- Samuel Binsol, Grade 5, Academic Achievement, William B. Wade Elementary School, Principal: William Miller
- Employees
- Todd Wogaman, physical rehabilitative teacher, Robert D. Stethem Educational Center
- Mildred Alexander-Moses, pupil personal worker, Matthew Henson Middle School
- Andrew Shanbarger, science teacher, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Elementary School
- Lea Flynn, prekindergarten instructional assistant, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd Elementary School
- Alisha Sweatt, secretary, William B. Wade Elementary School
New business
Motion to approve the Susoension of Board Policies by Lukas; Second by Brown
Yes = Brown, Herd, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; No=Abell, Hancock; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Public forum – 6 p.m. (preregistered speakers only)
- Vontosha Simms - introduce herself as a parent and political activist. Support for Board of Education.. Engage community and families in a positive way that is inclusive. Public health and safety for our students both in buildings and on buses. Safety gear for all staff and students. Mental health advocate. Renewable energy.
- Melissa Carpenter - teacher and lifelong resident. Colleagues are resigning. Overworked. We need more planning time and collaboration with colleagues. Not sessions from outside vendors or self-care.
- Tina Osborne - Parent of third grader at J.P. Ryon with suspected ADHD, anxiety, IEP needs that are not being addressed. Resistance from administration. Teachers need to be taught how to teach children to read. No different that failing to provide a ramp for a person in a wheelchair.
- Dee Shelton- Bus driver 101 from Stone Bus Company. Only speaks for herself. Hourly raise is 3-5%. Last raise was in 2019 and it was 3%. But real estate tax went up. Started driving 21 years ago. Steps are not adequate. Paid holidays are non existent. This is NOT a part time job. No more excuses. We can tolerate anymore.
- Pascale Small - Inequities with virtual learning. Move away from proximity learning and move back to adequate virtual learning.
- Joshua Torres - teach at Hanson MS. Questions regarding COVID mandates. Why just on infection rates for mask mandates. PCR test is effective. Affects of wearing a mask all the time on students and staff. Natural immunity is better than vaccines. Why vaccines mandates still happening. Asking for transparency on these matters.
Action items
- Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes from 10/12/21 Meeting by Herd; Second by Brown
Yes = Brown, Hancock, Herd, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Abell; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Motion to approve the minutes from 10/25/21 Breakfast by Abell; Second by Brown
Yes = Abell, Brown, Hancock, Herd, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Motion to approve the minutes from 10/25/21 Work Session McGraw; Second by Herd
Yes = Brown, Hancock, Herd, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Abell; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Motion to approve the minutes from 10/12/21 Executive Session by McGraw; Second by Brown
Yes = Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Abell, Herd; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Motion to approve the minutes from 10/28/21 Executive Session by Brown; Second by Hancock
Yes = Abell, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Herd; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
- Personnel
Motion to approve Personnel by Abell; Second by McGraw
Yes = Abell, Brown, Hancock, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; Abstain = Herd; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
- Middle School Redistricting - Revised Recommendation
Motion to approve Middle School Redistricting Recommendation by McGraw; Second by Brown
Motion to Amend the motion to grandfather Block 2643 by Lukas; No Second
Motion to Amend the motion to leave Block 3451 & 3441 at Somers by Abell; Second by Hancock
Yes = Abell, Hancock, Wilson; No = Brown, Lukas, McGraw; Absent = Battle-Lockhart
Motion Fails
Vote for original motion
Yes = Brown, Lukas, McGraw, Wilson; No = Abell, Hancock; Absent = Battle- Lockhart
Motion passes
Adjournment
