Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee (MSAOC)

Co-Chair-in-Waiting

The position of Co-Chair-in-Waiting is available. This position is for someone who is interested in becoming chair the following year. The Co-Chair-in-Waiting attends the executive committee meetings to plan the monthly committee meetings. They are also expected to shadow the co-chairs and meetings with FCPS leaders, assist with writing position statements, and support decision making in preparation for becoming a co-chair the following year. This year the co-chair-in-waiting should be a non-staff member as George’s term will expire next year. Interested members can email the staff liaison. Nominations will take place in October.

Meeting Schedule

George shared how the calendar was developed and that the subcommittees will get to suggest speakers to invite based on their identified challenge, starting in December. There was a motion to adopt the annual meeting schedule as presented. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

Bylaws Updates

Kim Amenabar presented a redline version of the bylaws which the executive committee revised. The revisions include:

• Clarification of meeting schedule posting to School Board calendar & website
• A provision in the event that the committee is unable to find a non-staff co-chair, that 2 staff members may serve as long as the co-chair in waiting is a non-employee.
• Staff Liaison selection change as revised in the School Board governance manual.
• A provision for electronic signatures on the annual report.
• Proposed amendments must be presented at a meeting for vote.
• Minor clarifications of language.
• A motion was made to adopt the bylaws as revised. It was seconded and passed unanimously. The revised bylaws will be available on the MSAOC web page.

Name Revision

George Becerra shared that he has been asked about the use of the term “Minority” and asked for discussion about what direction should we go with this term. The question was raised about what other terms might be more appropriate. Minoritized was suggested. Marginalized was also brought up since it encompasses many groups including SES, neurodivergence, etc. This will be further discussed at future meetings.

Additional Business/Announcements

Please email the staff liaison with any topics you would like to add to New Business for the next meeting

September Minutes

The minutes from the September 2024 meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.

Co-Chair-In-Waiting

There was a call for nominations for the Co-Chair-In-Waiting position. Juliana Nelson was nominated & seconded. She was unanimously voted into the role.

Name Revision

George Becerra revisited the topic of changing the word “minority” in the name of MSAOC. The committee discussed the issue of the connotation of the word. The idea was shared that the committee must decide on whether to broaden the MSAOC’s scope to include advocating for any/all underserved groups or to focus on the groups for whom it has historically advocated.

Mr. Robert Shaw stated his strong objection to changing the name of MSAOC for several reasons. Firstly, it would dishonor and disrespect Dr. Larry Bussey, one of the esteemed founders of MSAOC as well as the dedicated individuals who have devoted their time and effort to the organization over the years. The name MSAOC carries profound historical significance and symbolizes a deep-rooted commitment to the specific minority groups it has always served. Altering the name could dilute the community’s clear mission and the legacy it has built within the community. Furthermore, the established recognition and respect that MSAOC holds could be compromised by a name change, potentially weakening its influence and effectiveness. Ultimately, there is no compelling reason to change a name that embodies such a rich heritage, unwavering dedication, and well-earned prestige within the community and beyond.

The following FCPS staff presented the staff response to MSAOC 2024 Report

• Janice Szymanski, Chief Facilities & Capitol Programs Officer
• Dr. Sloan Presidio, Chief Academic Officer
• Margot Dickey, Educational Specialist, Advanced Academic Programs
• William Solomon, Chief Human Resources Officer
• Marie Lemmon, Assistant Superintendent, Department of School Improvement & Support, Office of the Chief of Schools
• Lisa Hall, Chief Experience & Engagement Officer

Presenters highlighted the responses detailed in the 2024 Staff Response to MSAOC Recommendations (PDF). They also shared relevant updates since the response was written and took questions from committee members.

Family Handbook Revisions

There will be a virtual meeting for anyone interested in working on revisions to the MSAOC Family Advocacy Handbook on Monday November 4th from 5:00 – 6:00pm. Anyone interested in attending should contact Kim Amenabar for a link to the meeting.

Additional Business/Announcements

Please email the staff liaison with any topics you would like to add to New Business for the next meeting.

Karl Frisch, School Board Chair introduced himself. He shared that Robyn Lady had also been invited but since the topic of changes to Community Advisory Committees falls under the Public Engagement Committee and she is chair of the Governance Committee, he would be better able to speak to the topic.

Mr. Frisch shared that last year they decided to fully outline the functioning of committees by creating a Community Advisory Committee Operating Manual (PDF), which was adopted by the School Board in June 2024. Both School Board & Community Advisory Committee members have voiced concerns for years about the lack of follow up on recommendations so two changes were outlined to address this issue.

The first is how reports are received by the board. Previously, this has been done at work sessions in the evenings during the week, which adversely impacted attendance and scheduling. To address this, annual reports will now be presented at Saturday summits. Four Community Advisory Committees will be invited per Saturday summit so that ample time can be allotted for each group. Lunch will be provided, and this will also afford the opportunity for networking and interaction with all board members, not only those who members represent. The hope is that these summits will have greater attendance from Advisory Committee Members, sufficient time to fully explore the report recommendations, and space for informal interaction between School Board and Community Advisory Committee members.

The second change is regarding what occurs once the report is submitted. The board recognized that the onus should not have been on the committee to follow up on their own recommendations. The operating manual states that there will be a written response and a plan of action presented to the committee no later than the end of the first quarter and that any progress will be updated mid-year. Mr. Frisch stated that it is the School Board’s responsibility is to hold the Superintendent responsible for follow up. He added that it is unlikely that if there is something she is responsible for that she would not address. The Superintendent’s responsibilities are outlined in the Executive Limitations section of the Strategic Governance Manual (PDF). The goal of this change is to make sure that the annual reports aren’t busywork and are being heard.

Questions:

Kim Amenabar asked about the details of the annual report. This is now fully outlined in the Community Advisory Committee Operating Manual. Mr. Frisch noted that the report does not need to be a dissertation on data to which the School Board already has access but should include the data sources with relevant recommendations. While MSAOC has already been submitting much of what is required, changes include a section on follow-up of previous recommendations and submitting the future charge for the next year in the annual report.

George Becerra asked about the definition of Staff Liaison. In the past, this had been the official role of the CAO and CEO with administrative support from Dr. Larry Bussey and now Kim Amenabar. According to the new operating manual, the Staff Liaison is now determined by the superintendent in collaboration with the committee.

Robert Shaw asked about past annual reports. The last five years of annual reports are available on the MSAOC website. Annual reports back to 2005 are archived and can be requested by emailing the Staff Liaison.

George Becerra also asked about whether the annual charge must be related to the Strategic Plan and also about the membership of MSAOC which has historically included both staff and non-staff community members. This will impact MSAOC since staff members will no longer be voting members of the group. Mr. Frisch responded that the charge does need to connect to the Strategic Plan because it is important for the entire division and community to be working in the same direction. Regarding membership, Mr. Frisch acknowledged that different groups function differently and it might be beneficial for chairs of the various Advisory Committees to collaborate. The added that the Public Engagement Committee, which is chaired by Marcia St. John-Cunning, has a motion directing them to think through the standing committees and community advisory committees, including materials for onboarding new members. Any feedback from MSAOC would be appreciated.

This year in response to a suggestion from Dr. Nardos King, subcommittees will identify a problem of practice as part of their work in developing their report recommendations. Qia Craig provided an introduction to defining a problem of practice.

Kim Amenabar shared the timeline for the Annual Report development.
The committee split into subcommittees to decide on areas of focus and begin to consider data needed to formulate a problem of practice.

October Minutes

The minutes from the October 2024 meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.

Handbook Name Revision

A small group met virtually to begin work on updating the MSAOC Family Advocacy Handbook. In alignment with FCPS it was proposed to change from of the handbook from “Parent” to “Family” to reflect the various other caregivers in students’ lives. A motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

School Boundaries

MSAOC’s letter in support of revising the school boundaries has been drafted. It will be shared with the membership and sent to the school board. Information about the boundary reviews including a schedule of the community meetings with links to register to attend, can be found on the Comprehensive School Boundary Review page.

TJHSST Updates

Robert Shaw shared that since MSAOC had been instrumental in working to change the admissions policy, if we might get updates on what is happening at the school as a result. The principal has taken a new position as Director of Talent & Acquisition Management in HR and school rankings have been in the news lately. George Becerra shared that it would be best to include TJHSST questions the work of the subcommittees so that it would be addressed in conjunction with our current charge.

Student Speaker

Robert Shaw asked that the committee invite a student from Woodson HS to congratulate him on his groundbreaking work developing a treatment for skin cancer. Kim Amenabar will reach out to the student to see when he might be available.

Additional Business/Announcements

Please email the staff liaison with any New Business or Announcements for the next meeting

Dustin Wright, Executive Director of the Strategy, Planning & Learning Office presented to the committee on the implementation of practices outlined in the Four Pillars of the Strategic Plan. The presentation began with an overview of the Strategic Plan development and organizing structure. The new Chief of Staff comprises the Office of Strategy Planning & Learning, the Office of Professional Learning (OPL) and the Office of Research and Strategic Improvement (ORSI). The mission is to improve student outcomes, organizational effectiveness, and organizational agility by implementing continuous improvement systems. The office is charged with Strategic Plan implementation and alignment of division work. The Strategic Plan is the foundation. Then there are SIIP Teams in schools and interdepartmental Goal Teams. Departments will submit plans on how they will work in each of the areas of the four pillars. The Four Pillars identify what the division must do well to reach the goals for all students.

• Pillar A – Differentiated & Culturally Responsive Learning Environments is focused on Teaching & Learning.
• Pillar B – Vibrant Home, School, & Community Partnerships acknowledges that Family & Community Partnerships are vital because schools can’t do it alone.
• Pillar C – Diverse, Adaptive, & Supported Workforce is focused on Hiring & Retention to ensure staff have what they need to achieve division goals.
• Pillar D – Culture of Equity, Excellence, & Accountability brings it all together through data guided decision making.

There are levels of implementation at the school level, department level, and division level. Some things are more urgent right now and some are lasting changes for the division and may take longer to implement, refine, and bring to scale.

The November 12th School Board work session will be the first reporting which will be on Goal 3.

After the overview, Mr. Wright took questions from individual committee members. Topics included:

• Interest in the Goal teams
• Enacting the Equity Commitments
• Student impact and participation
• Professional Development on Equity

C. Farrish called for nominations for Co-Chair. G. Becerra was nominated and seconded. He accepted the nomination. The vote was unanimous in favor.

C. Farrish called for nominations for Co-Chair-In-Waiting. Q. Craig had self-nominated and was seconded. She was voted in unanimously.

George Becerra opened the meeting. The minutes from the last meeting were voted on and approved as submitted. Cheronda Farrish shared some norms which would make the meeting go more smoothly which are:

• Turn nametag to be recognized to speak.
• Give all space to speak - one question/comment per turn. (Follow-ups will be recognized after all first questions/comments have spoken.)
• Wait to bring up off-topic questions/comments for New Business.

The written staff response was shared with MSAOC members in advance. Dr. Sloan Presidio lead the presentation of the Staff Response. He commended the work and outstanding report which the MSAOC has done historically and again this year. He shared that there are some recommendations that the staff have already been able to address and others that they have not yet been able to address. He shared that just because something has not been done yet does not mean that it will not be addressed later, and he praised the continued advocacy efforts of the committee. Dr. Presidio shared information about the Teaching & Learning & School Environment sections of the annual report. Ms. Lisa Hall, Chief Experience & Engagement Officer, Christy Scott, Director of Community Relations, & Angela Aldave shared information about the work their office will be doing to partner with families, in response to the recommendations in the Family Partnership section of the MSAOC report. Krista Simkins, Talent Acquisition Management Director spoke to the HR work with respect to the personnel recommendations in the School Operations section.

Following the presentation, staff members responded to questions from the committee. There was much discussion regarding the annual report including who provides the response, when the report is made to the board, and how the recommendations may be used by the budget committee.

Kim Amenabar shared the structure of how the subcommittees will address the charge this year. The work groups will be:

• Pillar A – Differentiated & Culturally Responsive Learning Environments
• Pillar B – Vibrant Home, School, and Community Family & Community Partnerships
• Pillar C – Diverse, Adaptive, & Supported Workforce

Members will receive a form asking for committee preferences. Future MSAOC meetings will include time for subcommittees to work on their area to draft the annual report.

Congratulations to Dr. Lynette Henry on her new appointment as Executive Director of Educate Fairfax.

Congratulations to Karen Keys-Gamarra on winning the election for VA House of Delegates.

We will be reaching out to the newly elected School Board members to have a meet and greet and invite them to understand the work of the committee.

Lisa Hall introduced her team and each presented information about their office’s accomplishments and focus.

Family & School Partnerships – Renee LaHuffman-Jackson, Director, shared the ways her office supports schools in partnering with families in ways that are based on mutual trust, culturally responsive and linked to learning.

Student Registration & Language Services – Ms. Hall shared for Coordinator Dave Anderson, who was not able to attend, about the registration process and the improvements which have been made, including on-line registration. The translation and interpretation office has increased their response time as well. They hope to focus on continuing to expedite and improve the registration process.

Ombuds – Dawn Clements presented the work of the Ombuds office which was established in 2018. There are now 3 staff in the office. The Ombuds provides informal assistance to answer questions, resolve concerns and voice complaints regarding FCPS matters. They offer assistance with brainstorming and navigating the school system for families, students, staff and community members. Their focus is on increasing student-centered outreach to serve more students.

Educate Fairfax – Lynette Henry, Director, shared that the fundraising office of the CXO is aligning its priorities to the priorities in the Strategic Plan. All funds go directly to support schools or programs. There is a Board of Directors made up of community members, the Superintendent, or her designee, FCPS leadership representative and an assigned School Board Liaison. The foundation brings in funds to support students in need with supplies such as technology, clothing, and hygiene items. They also fund curriculum, materials, teacher grants, and employee recognition. In addition, they recognize Alumni and bring them back to share their accomplishments. The foundation is focused on student, staff, and community engagement to provide the resources to support the pillars of the Strategic Plan.

Communications – Beth Visioli, Executive Director, spoke about the role of the communications office which includes strategic planning for large initiatives, crisis and incident responses, media outreach, The communication office strives to tell the stories of our division and respond to inquiries. They oversee the FCPS website and social media accounts and support schools with their individual accounts as well. They also produce the FCPS This Week newsletter, the Employee Newsletter, and provide informational toolkits to the school board and principals. Communications has a graphic design team for brand management, video production staff, and photographers. They also manage FOIA and FERPA requests. A focus for 2024 is to compete a redesign of the FCPS website.

Community Relations – Christy Scott, Director, shared the mission of the community relations team which is to build relationships and trust with our community. They provide Communications and Communications strategy, Community engagement and events, intercultural engagement, as well as business and community partnerships. They provide outreach to hear the voices of our communities and engage with multicultural families through focus groups and listening sessions. Their focus is to increase meaningful engagement at events as well as feedback opportunities.

Kim Amenabar shared information about the 3 subcommittees: Learning, Partnerships, & Workforce. Members who submitted their selection form all got their first choice. Others were placed where needed. The group broke into subcommittees to begin initial work. The outcomes for the worktime were:

1. Select a subcommittee chairperson to:
   1. Keep the group focused and on track.
   2. Organize drafting the Annual Report.
   3. Communicate any needs for data or information to the Staff Liaison.
   4. Convene extra meetings if needed.
2. Discuss possible areas of consideration to begin to narrow down the focus of inquiry for the annual report.

Subcommittee assignments will be emailed to all members.

• November Meeting Notes (Vote)
• Questions for January presenters from the Office of the Chief of Staff:
  • Sherry Wilson, Asst. Superintendent, Human Resources
  • Jay Nocco, Executive Director, Professional Learning
    • There are requirements around compliance – outside of that what are the areas we are focusing on. Is one of them cultural proficiency?
    • What does every teacher need to have in place and how do we make sure they have it with the turnover?

New Business

• Successful Children and Youth Policy Team – George Becerra attended the meeting to see how the work aligns to the Strategic Plan. Met with Fairfax County Government group and they highlighted the racial differences. There was a discussion on race and identity and how professional learning is needed.
• Strategic Plan Goal 3 Presentation to SB 12/4/23 (PDF)

Two of the departments within the Office of the Chief of Staff presented to the committee on their work to support the foundational practices which contribute to Strategic Plan Pillar C – Diverse, Adaptive, & Supported Workforce.

Professional Learning

Jay Nocco, Executive Director, Professional Learning

Mr. Nocco clarified the distinction between Professional Development (PD) and Training. PD is generally future focused learning of longer duration which is designed to promote employee growth and overall competency in adaptive skills while Training is usually of shorter duration, job specific, and is focused on providing the technical or concrete skills needed in the present.  He shared that FCPS offers professional learning in a variety of from required to optional, on-line and in person as well as synchronous and self-directed. The key factors when thinking about professional learning are Knowledge, Skill, Attitude, and Beliefs.  These are where the design of the learning needs to be focused on where you want to create the most impacts.

Providing professional learning does not guarantee that what has been shared will be implemented.  Once the Professional learning is provided there may be a knowing doing gap which then has to be addressed through evaluation, compliance, and coaching.

In FCPS Professional Learning may be delivered through the Office of Professional Learning (OPL) however much of the PD provided is department specific.  OPL centrally coordinates staff professional development support from hiring to retirement. This includes Great Beginnings (new teachers), tuition reimbursement for staff, Title IIA federal grant funding for professional learning, Instructional Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Instructional Coaching, National Board Teacher certification and systemwide PD. Operational Leadership is something that the office has realized needs to be improved and has begun a new leadership program for operational staff. Affinity Groups have been started in the last 2 years to provide staff from various groups a space to get a sense of belonging and connection.  There is a learning management system called MyPDE which schedules and tracks in-house PD and training.

In response to a question about time for PD, Mr. Nocco explained that early release Mondays started in the 1970’s and at that time an additional 30 minutes of instruction was added to Tuesdays – Fridays to compensate for the 2 hours of early release on Mondays.  When early release ended in 2015, students got 2 additional hours of instructional time, however teachers never regained that time for professional learning.  Additionally, because the calendar was created to emphasize 5-day weeks for students, there are fewer PD days, and they are concentrated at the beginning and end of the school year.  Because of this some of our practices have changed.  There is more asynchronous learning, and more PD in schools from instructional coaches and leaders during collaborative team time.  The cost is a great cognitive load on teachers.  Research shows the importance of learning, modeling, coaching, and practice for teachers to improve their performance.  Advocacy is needed for our staff to have the necessary professional learning and planning time so teachers can do their job well.

We have really streamlined the required PD that is assigned. Required PD is due to a federal, state, or division regulation or a leadership decision. Managers, evaluators, and principals are the ones who are responsible for monitoring if their staff complete required professional learning.

Human Resources

Sherry Agnew-Scott, Assistant Superintendent, Human Resources 
Krista Simkins, Director, Office of Talent Acquisition (OTA)  
Felicia Hamilton, Employment Specialist, Office of Talent Acquisition (OTA)

Since COVID things have changed in how the public views working in education. HR works with principals and staff to help them understand the importance of treating staff well and making FCPS a great place to work. The HR team described recruitment initiatives and events that they attend including those for students in teaching programs and career switchers. Diverse initiatives sometimes need outreach to different parts of the country.  HR is also developing pipeline programs such as options for IAs to become special education teachers, Teach for Tomorrow (contracts for FCPS students going into the profession).  The OTA team is working to staff 200 schools.  A centralized hiring team will be placing early contract hires but other candidates are given a choice of schools. FCPS has been approved for the iTeach program through the VDOE which allows candidates to get everything needed for licensure quickly and at a low cost.

Progress has been made since last year in having schools with more teachers who are Asian, Black, and Hispanic teachers.  More work is needed in diversity hiring but there is improvement. Participate Learning is a program we have to bring teachers from other countries for 3-5 years.  We are looking to expand the program to 100 teachers next year.

Dr. Agnew Scott shared the structure of the HR office:

Employee Relations OER - ensures the equitable administration of applicable federal, state, and FCPS regulations and laws impacting the FCPS community.

Employee Services & Operations ESO – leads employee communication and customer service efforts to include fielding HR-related inquiries, conducting new employee onboarding, maintaining salary plans and personnel records, and administering staff recognition, retention, awards programs, and engagement surveys. We also develop and manage the department’s fiscal and technology resources.

Labor Relations OLR – ensures compliance with collective bargaining and administer the grievance process. Provides training related to collective bargaining.

Office of Executive Director – partners with community businesses to provide support to management to define and implement people initiatives that benefit the division. Business mindset specialists consult with HR.

Cheronda Farrish opened the meeting and introduced Caitlin Kim, the newly appointed member representing Ilryong Moon.

The minutes from the January meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.

Edward Osborne brought up the Advisory Committee Operating Manual which will be voted on by the school board. Important points to consider are, timing of committee reports, Advisory Board committees needing to include follow up on the recommendations from the previous report (instead of the staff response), and meeting procedures. The draft will be sent to committee members. Feedback should be emailed to Kim Amenabar no later than February 14th.

Dr. Geovanny Ponce began his presentation by sharing about his background as an immigrant and his professional journey as an educator. He then shared information regarding the structure of the Chief of Schools office. The Departments under the Chief of Schools are each of the 6 Regions including the regional leadership as well as the schools, the Department of School Improvement and Supports (DSIS), the office of Student Activities and Athletics, Nontraditional School Programs, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology.

The Chief of Schools stated his strong desire for all children to have a variety of opportunities to succeed. Currently, different programs and opportunities for students are being reviewed to ensure that students are being served.

Some of the challenges Dr. Ponce named are the wide variety of diverse needs, the persistence of some groups of students not receiving the education they deserve, and the on-going staffing concerns.

• March presenters will be Marcy Kneale, Assistant Superintendent & Dustin Wright, Executive Director, from the office of Strategy Planning & Learning office.
• Dr. Bussey Parent Resource Library renaming on Feb 26th (see calendar invitation)
• March meeting will be in Gatehouse - room 1600.

Call to Order

Cheronda Farrish opened the meeting. The minutes from the February meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.

Dr. Bussey Library Dedication

Qia Craig shared that the dedication of the Dr. Larry Bussey Family and Community Library was held in February and was well attended by his family, MSAOC members, and others who knew Dr. Bussey.

Annual Report Draft Deadline

Kim Amenabar shared that subcommittee drafts of the annual report sections will be due by our May 8th meeting. At that meeting subcommittees will give a brief presentation of their section and recommendations so committee members can ask questions and the Executive Committee can be familiar with the recommendations prior to the presentation which is tentatively scheduled for June 20th.

Dr. Michelle Reid, Division Superintendent, addressed the committee. She thanked the MSAOC for their work and stated that this group’s work is the work. Dr. Reid shared that they are creating a dashboard to be able to make decisions in real time which are driven by the data. She noted that there has been an intense focus on what the data is, but we haven’t done anything with it. An example of a data driven change is that a new program called “Spring Sprouts” will allow students who have been chronically absent to get days credited back to them by attending classes during spring break. Another positive change is that Noel Klimenko and the Equitable Access to Literacy team have done an excellent job reviewing and selecting the new literacy curriculum. This will be the first time in almost 30 years that FCPS will be using basal curriculum, giving teachers the same materials across the division. Dr. Reid also shared the importance of sticking with current initiatives saying that next year we’re going to double down and stay on course and not get pulled off course by something new.

Dr. Reid stated that it's not just what happens in the classroom but what happens in the whole school that connect children to school. She shared that Math and Science Olympiad have been initiated at every Title I school to make opportunities available across the division. Middle School sports programs have also been very popular. The division is trying to make sure that everything we do is intentional across the county.
Marcy Kneale, Assistant Superintendent for Strategy Planning & Learning presented information on the implementation of plans to address the Four Pillars of the Strategic Plan.

Overview of the Strategic Plan Work: This is a 7-year plan. The pillars are the “How” and the goals are the “What”. Student outcomes are the focus of the plan, and the Pillars are the work that is happening to ensure that we achieve the student goals. We’re currently in the process of detailed reports to the school board to provide baseline data. So far there have been two Goal reports and there is another next week. Staff is bringing data to the board on each of the goals to show the current state, any disparities, and what we think the causes might be.

What’s being done to examine the pillars: Baseline reports will give us a starting point. Then we can understand where we need to shift resources. For example, we know our workforce is changing. Becoming a new teacher is different than it was in the past. We plan to place our instructional coaches where there are large numbers of new teachers so they can work day to day with those teachers in their first three years to make them strong and want to stay. There are many attempts to open pathways to teaching beyond traditional programs in universities. We’re seeing more teachers coming from those pathways and they haven’t had the same preparation, so we need to support them and make sure they’re successful.
Goal Teams: Our plan was to start these sooner but as we did the baseline reports we started to see overlap with the goal teams. Champions of each team have been named but as we dig into the data, we are seeing a lot of crossover so the goal teams are a work in progress.

Family involvement in Strategic Plan implementation: Schools can’t do it alone and there needs to be a partnership. Dr. Reid still has community conversations and there is a need for additional family and student voices. We have to engage with families in different ways to get different results. We’ve been fortunate to work with Dr. Henry to think of ways to partner differently. There is an advisory group that meets with Dr. Reid regularly. Dr. Reid wanted to make sure she was hearing from every school, so each school was asked to invite 2 representatives. They are divided into 4 groups which meet with her every other month. These meetings are a way to combat some urban legends and also to bring information back to schools. Some topics have discussed have been safety, boundaries, and programming. This is a way to establish two-way communication with families.

What happens to the pillars if the goals aren’t met: We would need to revisit what is being done. As we develop data systems in real time it’s helped us be more agile in addressing the issues. Not meeting goals would make us think differently about what strategies we’re using to meet goals. Our SIIPs are all aligned, and 190 schools had improvement in attendance, so we know that using real time data is useful in making real time changes.

Equity Commitments: We’re presenting data very intentionally and we interrogate data to see where we are not making goals, but we need to speak with families before we start implementing strategies or figuring out root causes. We have to talk to families if we’re going to engage in work to improve their experiences and their outcomes. Dr. King added that her office is resetting the Equity Leads program work to support the Equity Commitments. It is necessary to be intentional about talking to the communities that are having challenges. The youth survey provides one type of information but doing empathy interviews can get to a different set of experiences.

Work of the Strategy, Planning, and Learning Office: We are focused on aligning the efforts and resources as well as building the structures to get the whole division to work in alignment. We also have regular engagement with the county government because community work impacts the schools.

Budget Advocacy Letter

A letter is being drafted to send to the School Board regarding the budget process and MSAOC’s input. This will be circulated to the committee prior to sending.

Dr. Bussey Memorial Equity Award

The 2nd annual award will be presented at the Equity Symposium. The website and information flyer are being updated. Information will be sent to the committee to share with their organizations. Committee members who would like to be part of the selection committee should email Kim Amenabar.

Advisory Board Manual

There were no major edits to the document that was shared last month. The School Board hopes to have training for Advisory Committee Chairs to help them be more aligned in their work.

Strategic Plan Advisory Committee

Some members of the MSAOC participate on a new committee to advise the staff regarding the implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Call to Order

George Becerra opened the meeting.

Dr. Bussey Memorial Equity Award

Kim Amenabar shared that the website is live and accepting applications. There are flyers with QR codes which can be distributed to members organizations. The information also went out to school administrators and Equity Leads and was shared in the FCPS News this week.

Budget Advocacy Letter

George Becerra discussed the budget letter and decided to do this at the beginning of the year next year since the 2024-25 budget has already been decided by the School Board.

Jonathan Melendez, Prevention Coordination Specialist and Marla Zometsky, Cross-System Prevention Manager, and Tony Humphey, Youth Intervention Manager from Fairfax County’s Department of Neighborhood and Community Services (NCS) shared information about the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative.

Successful Child & Youth Policy Team (SCYPT) is a collaborative body with input from the community, government, and schools. Decision makers from the various systems meet to work on changing policy to support youth. Meetings are open to the public and livestreamed.

MBK was launched in 2014 by Obama foundation to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color. It takes a collective approach to looking beyond just school for advancement. MBK focuses on 6 key milestones where intervention can have the greatest outcomes in life:

• Kindergarten readiness
• 3rd grade reading
• Graduation from high school & career ready
• Entering the workforce
• Keeping kids on track and re-engaging them when needed

In Fairfax the 3 initiatives they are focusing on in year one of MBK are:

1. Improving HS graduation rates
2. Increasing the numbers of Advanced Diploma
3. Reducing drop-out rates and reengaging those who have dropped out.

MBK is part of One Fairfax and gives added leverage to programs already in place in addition to starting new initiatives. The Obama Foundation has certain processes that must be done to be a MBK city and the work with the foundation is in process. The county government is looking to work together with schools on our shared goals.

MBK is not a program – it is a collective policy approach where the community comes together to look at what is needed to advance opportunities for boys and young men of color, so they have a better chance of success. NCS would like MSAOC representation as they build the action plan for MBK. Those who are interested can email [email protected] to attend steering meetings.

Kim Amenabar reminded the group that each subcommittee must submit their draft section of the annual report prior to the May 8th meeting. They should also prepare a brief (10 minutes maximum) presentation for the committee to share their findings and recommendations.

Learning Environment, Workforce, and Partnership subcommittees met in small groups to continue their work on the annual report to the School Board.

Annual Report Vote & Signature Information

The vote on the annual report will be on June 5th. It will be in person because we need actual signatures for the School Board. As per the bylaws, members who have missed more than 50% of the meetings are not able to vote.

Additional Business/Announcements

• The minutes from the March meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.
• The Annual Report presentation to the School Board has been scheduled for June 20th from 5:00 – 6:00. Calendar invites will be sent.
• George Becerra proposed that MSAOC School Board representatives should share the annual report recommendations personally prior to the June 20th meeting. This will save time for the presentation and help them to retain the information. New School Board members may especially benefit from hearing the recommendations in advance so they can prepare questions.

Call to Order

Qia Craig opened the meeting.

April Minutes

The minutes from the April meeting were voted on and approved as submitted.

Dr. Bussey Memorial Equity Award

There were 15 completed nominations submitted. The selection committee is reviewing all the candidates and will meet next week to make a final decision. Members are invited to the presentation at the FCPS Equity Symposium on June 18th. Information will be sent via email.

Pillar A - Learning Environment

• Focus: Equitable Algebra Enrollment in Grade 8
  • Recommendation: Develop and commit to a 3-year professional learning plan that focuses on grades 3-6 mathematics in order to support an build a strong foundation.
• Focus: Advanced Coursework in High School
  • Recommendation: Evaluate the open enrollment in honors classes to determine use, procedure, and effectiveness.
• Suggestions were made to collect more data from students to understand the changes needed.

Pillar B – Partnerships

• Focus Area: Culture of trust & shared responsibilities for families of multilingual learners
  • Recommendation: Create a Multilingual Families Initiative with several Title I pilot schools.
• Suggestions were made to make the programmatic suggestions more general and to tie into existing initiatives.

Pillar C – Workforce

• Focus Area: Diversity in Hiring
  • Recommendation: Create a diversity hiring position, recruitment strategy, professional development plan for HR staff, and diversity hiring accountability measures.

Proposed Changes to Strategic Governance Manual

The Public Engagement Committee of the School Board has proposed an operating manual for Advisory Committees. The document has been shared with the committee. The Strategic Governance Manual has significant proposed changes to MSAOC. Members should review the document and submit feedback no later than Thursday, May 16th.

Annual Report

The subcommittee drafts will be compiled into one document and sent for review to members. The vote on the final document will be at our next meeting. The School Board presentation of the annual report will be on June 5th. Calendar invitations have been sent.

George Becerra shared the Pillar D section of the annual report. There was some discussion about the idea of asking schools to post their budgets to their websites. The committee decided to table this recommendation and discuss it further next year.

There was a requested revision to assign teachers at schools based on student demographics and need. It was stated that this practice could significantly impact teachers’ decisions to come to or stay in FCPS. Since collective bargaining is underway, it was decided that this would be tabled and discussed further at a later time. Collaboration with the Human Resources Advisory Committee was added to the report.

The committee discussed the idea of requesting a school boundary study and asking that MSAOC participate in the planning for boundary revisions. This was added to the report.

A motion was made and seconded to allow for a minority report for anyone who did not agree to sign the final version of the 20204 Annual Report. It was unanimously approved.

A motion was made to approve the final version of the 2020 MSAOC Annual Report, which had been sent to members prior to the meeting, with the revision done at this time. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

May meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

Proposed Changes to Strategic Governance Manual

The Public Engagement Committee of the School Board has proposed an operating manual for Advisory Committees. They have asked for feedback from the co-chairs on the composition of the committee. The proposed changes would cut nearly half of MSAOC’s membership, by eliminating the staff representation. The co-chairs will respond to the feedback request and welcome any member feedback.

Annual Report

School Board representatives were reminded to set up a preview meeting with their board member to review the annual report.

MSAOC members were asked to please make all efforts to attend the presentation to the School Board on June 20th at 5:00pm in Gatehouse room 1600.

End of Year Potluck Reception

George Becerra suggested that the committee get together after the presentation to the school board in a room at Gatehouse. It was requested that each member bring some food or drinks to share.

Past Annual Reports

Bob Shaw requested that all past reports be posted to the website. Kim Amenabar noted that they have been digitizing old files and will try to get them posted once they are ready.