On Sunday, I had a D9 Connection Meeting to listen to folks in District 9. Thanks to the people who took time out of their weekend to voice their thoughts about Plan A for grades 6-12, planning for next year, asynchronous/weather days, and quarantines. On Monday, I had the honor of visiting Cary High School, Davis Drive Middle, and Davis Drive Elementary. It was great to see learning in action, students enjoying being on campus, and staff making things happen. On Thursday, I had a blast attending the Connections Academy's Family Engagement Night at McDonald's. I enjoyed meeting some fabulous families and students and spending more time with the outstanding staff.
As a Board, we had five meetings this week: Student Achievement Committee, Special Called Board Meeting, Policy Committee, Joint Meeting with County Commissioners, and Safety and Security Committee.
At the Monday, March 22nd Student Achievement Committee:
- Paul Koh, Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services; Dawn Dawson, Senior Director, Office of Early Learning; Gay Lytton, Director, Preschool Programs; Rhonda Riggins, Pre-K Teacher at Turner Creek Elementary; and Amy Dragotta, Pre-K Teacher at Oakview Elementary provided an overview of the Pre-K program: background of the program, the different types offered in WCPSS, data on classrooms and number of students served, partnerships, and the five year plan. To view their PowerPoint, click here.
- Drew Cook, Assistant Superintendent for Academics; Jo Anne Honeycutt, CTE Director; and Brian Pittman, Senior Director, High School Programs; updated the Board on the CTE local plan. To access their presentation, use this link.
If you would like to watch the recording of the March 22nd Student Achievement Committee, click here.
At the Monday, March 22nd Special Called Board Meeting:
- Superintendent Moore presented the staff considerations, implications of Senate Bill 220, and staff recommendation of Plan A for grades 6-12. The presentation can be viewed at this link. The Board voted 6-3 on the recommendation. I, personally, voted in favor of the recommendation based on information I have gathered from multiple sources: NC DHHS, local mental health providers, local healthcare providers, families, students, educators, District data on student attendance, grades, ELL and McKinney-Vento, and more.
- Superintendent Moore presented calendar changes to move one teacher workday to allow for school staff to prepare for the transition to Plan A. The Board voted 9-0 in favor of the changes. Traditional Calendar: Workday moved from May 13 to April 7. Modified Calendar: Workday moved from June 15 to April 1. Leadership Academies, College and Career Academies, Knightdale High School, and Wake Early College of Health and Science: Workday moved from May 13 to April 1.Year-Round Single Track and Wake STEM Early College: No Change
All families will be given the opportunity to choose the Virtual Academy or Plan/in-person learning. Each school will be reaching out to families. Families have until April 1st to complete the process.
Please remember if you are an eligible bus rider currently enrolled in the Virtual Academy and are transitioning back to in-person learning, you also need to apply for bus transportation and complete the online health attestation form to receive bus services. You can access the bus transportation request form here. The attestation form is at this link.
At the Tuesday, March 23rd Policy Committee:
- Paul Koh, Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services, presented two policies: Policy 6100: Goals of Student Health Services and Policy 6110: Organization of Student Health Services. It was decided to merge the two policies and change a few words. To view Policy 6100, click this link. Policy 6110 can be viewed here.
- Paula De Lucca, Senior Director, Child Nutrition Services; presented two new policies: Policy 6220 Organization of Children Nutrition Services and Policy 6225: Free and Reduced Price Meal Services. There were a few changes recommended. Policy 6220 can be accessed at this link. To read Policy 6225, click here.
- Deran Coe, Director, Athletics; presented revised Policy 4270/6145: Concussion and Head Injury. To view Policy 4270/6145, visit this link.
- Dr. Brad McMillen, Assistant Superintendent, Data, Research, and Accountability; presented new Policy 4720: Survey of Students. There were multiple changes recommended. To access Policy 4720, click here.
- Dr. Julie Crain, Director, Strategy and Policy; presented revised Policy 2120: Code of Ethics and Responsibilities for School Board Members. There will be some additional information about Board of Education family members added. Policy 2120 can be viewed at this link.
You can watch the March 23rd Policy Committee here.
At Tuesday, March 23rd Joint Meeting with County Commissioners:
- Gayle E. Headen, Executive Director, Wake County Smart Start; Paul Koh, Assistant Superintendent, Student Support Services; and Dawn Dawson, Senior Director, Office of Early Learning; presented an overview of the different types of Pre-K programs in Wake County, data related to the Pre-K programs, partnerships, and projected needs. To access the presentation, click this link.
- Johnna Sharpe, Wake County Chief Operating Officer, and Ryan Jury, Mass Vaccination Branch Director; presented a COVID-19 update including data and information about the vaccination efforts. You can view the PowerPoint here.
To access the recording of the March 23rd Joint Meeting with County Commissioners, visit this link.
At the Wednesday, March 24th Safety and Security Committee:
- Dr. Brad McMillen, Assistant Superintendent, Data, Research, and Accountability; provided an overview of the SRO MOU Survey results. To view the presentation, click here.
- Russ Smith, Senior Director, Office of Security; and Kendrick Smith, Senior Administrator, Office of Security; presented information about SROs in elementary schools. To access the presentation, click this link.
- Russ Smith, Senior Director, Office of Security, provided an update on the recommendations from the 2013 Safer Schools Task Force Report. You can view the presentation by clicking here.
- Maura O’Keefe, Attorney, Tharrington Smith; provided an overview of suggested revisions to the SRO MOU.
If you would like to watch the recording of the March 24th Safety and Security Committee, visit this link.
There were updates to the StrongSchoolsNC Public Schools Toolkit this week. To access the latest version, click here.
Next week, as a Board we have no meetings. I will be hosting a D9 Connection Meeting on Tuesday, March 30th at 7:30 pm. This is an informal meeting for me to listen to District 9 families, educators, and community members. If you would like to join us, please use this Google Meet link.
Please mark your calendars for Sunday, April 11th at 4pm for an additional D9 Connection Meeting.
If you have any questions or comments, please email me at kcarter3@wcpss.net.
