[1. Call to Order]
          [00:00:14]
          548. THE WORK SESSION IS CALLED TO ORDER. GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE APRIL 16TH, 2026 PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION WORK SESSION. I AM BRANDON JACKSON, CHAIRMAN. THE WORK SESSION IS BEING INTERPRETED LIVE IN SPANISH. TO LISTEN TO THE SPANISH INTERPRETATION, PLEASE CALL (508) 924-5155. ONCE AGAIN THE NUMBER IS 50892445155. PLEASE FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON THE SCREEN FOR THE SPANISH VERSION. I UNA LINEA TELEFONICA SIMULTANEA DISPONIBLES PARA LAS PERSONAS Q DESEAN ESCUCHAR LA REUNION DE LA JUNTA EN ESPANOL SI DESEA ESCUCHAR LA REUNION EN ESPANOL. 089. CUATRO CINCO CINCO CINCO. FOR ANYONE UNABLE TO JOIN US LIVE, THE WORK SESSION IS BEING RECORDED AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR LATER VIEWING ON THE PGC YOUTUBE CHANNEL. LASTLY, FOR RECORDING PURPOSES, THE CHAIRMAN REMINDS ALL BOARD MEMBERS TO ENSURE THAT THEIR MICROPHONES ARE TURNED ON WHEN SPEAKING. MISS JOHNSON, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. PRESENT, DOCTOR AND PRESENT. MISS ESTRADA, PRESENT. MR. BRIGGS, PRESENT. MRS. BROWN, MISS GOINS MCCANTS, MRS. JACKSON SAUNDERS, PRESENT. 
          DOCTOR. MOSS. MRS. OLIVO, PRESENT. AND MR. JACKSON HERE. WE HAVE SEVEN PRESENT. THANK 
          [3. Adoption of Agenda]
YOU. A QUORUM IS PRESENT IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION TO. APRIL 16TH, 2026, WORK SESSION AGENDA WILL BE ADOPTED. MOVING ON TO. THERE ARE NO OBJECTION. APRIL 16TH WORK SESSION AGENDA IS ADOPTED. MOVING ON TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THE NON AGENDA ITEMS. PUBLIC PUBLIC COMMENT GUIDELINES TO OUR REGISTERED SPEAKERS. YOU ARE ALLOTTED THREE MINUTES TO SHARE YOUR REMARKS. SPEAKING TIME MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL. THE BOARD WILL NOT ENGAGE IN DIALOG DURING THIS PORTION OF THE WORK SESSION. SPEAKERS ARE EXPECTED TO REFRAIN FROM PROFANITY OR DEROGATORY LANGUAGE. A WARNING WILL BE ISSUED ONCE CONTINUE. 
          MISCONDUCT MAY RESULT IN THE SPEAKER BEING MUTED OR REMOVED FROM THE WORK SESSION. TO SUPPORT A PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS ENVIRONMENT, SPEAKERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REFER TO INDIVIDUALS BY TITLES SUCH AS CHAIR, BOARD MEMBER, SUPERINTENDENT. THIS EVENING, THE BOARD RECEIVED NO PUBLIC COMMENTS, NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. THERE ARE NO WRITTEN COMMENTS OR PRERECORDED VIDEOS. THANK YOU. MOVING TOWARDS THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN, THE 
          [5. Presentations]
CHAIRMAN RECOGNIZES DOCTOR JOSEPH FOR THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, BOARD CHAIR JACKSON. AND GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS GAINED NATIONAL AND STATEWIDE RECOGNITION FOR ITS PROACTIVE SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP, INCLUDING MAINTAINING THE LARGEST PORTFOLIO OF GREEN SCHOOLS AND ADOPTING THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE DISTRICT WIDE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN IN THE STATE. SCHOOL SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES HAVE NUMEROUS BENEFITS. THEY PROVIDE HEALTHY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR STUDENTS AND STAFF, FOSTER ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP, AND CAN YIELD SUBSTANTIAL COST SAVINGS IN ENERGY AND WATER UTILITY BILLS AND WASTE DISPOSAL FEES. THESE SAVINGS, IN TURN, CAN BE REDIRECTED TOWARDS EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES LIKE TECHNOLOGY, TEXTBOOKS AND SALARIES. OUR NEXT PRESENTERS ARE FROM THE DIVISION OF OPERATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE. THE DEPARTMENT IS CHARGED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR DISTRICT'S CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN, AND HAS BEEN WORKING DILIGENTLY SINCE THE FALL OF 2023 TO BRING THE VISION OF THE PLAN TO FRUITION. 
          I'LL NOW TURN IT OVER TO DIRECTOR MORRISON TO INTRODUCE HIS TEAM AND BEGIN THE PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, SUPERINTENDENT JOSEPH. GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS AND CABINET MEMBERS. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE UPDATES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN. MY NAME IS DOROTHY MORRISON, SERVING AS DIRECTOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS DSR. AND WITH ME ARE MY TWO PROGRAM MANAGERS, MISS SHEILA STEVENS HERE, AND MISS CHRISTINA GARCIA, WHO WILL BE CO-PRESENTING WITH ME TODAY. FOR TODAY'S PRESENTATION, THE TEAM WILL PROVIDE A BRIEF RECAP ON THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY BE NEW, 
          [00:05:03]
ARE NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH IT. WE'LL ALSO HIGHLIGHT HOW WE ARE LEADING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE, AND GIVE AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS REALIZED AS WE WORK TO DELIVER THE PLAN'S PRIORITIES. OKAY, SO FROM THERE, SO TO RECAP THE CLIMATE EXCUSE ME TO RECAP. THE RECAP IS PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ENSURE OUR READINESS FOR THE IMPACTS OF A CHANGING CLIMATE AND THAT WE, AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, DO OUR PART TO MITIGATE AND OR ALLEVIATE THOSE IMPACTS. IN 2022, THE C CAP WAS ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOLLOWING A YEAR LONG WORK BY MEMBERS OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY FOCUS GROUP. 
          THE OUTCOME FROM THIS WORK IS A FORWARD THINKING AND COMPREHENSIVE CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN, WITH EIGHT PRIORITIES AND 58 ACTION ITEMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED OVER MULTIPLE YEARS. I'LL RUN THROUGH THOSE A PRIORITIES AS YOU SEE ON SCREEN SUPPORT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THROUGH CLIMATE CURRICULUM TRAINING AND PARTNERSHIPS. REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINTS FROM PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS. COMMIT TO RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES, AND A NET ZERO EMISSIONS FUTURE. COMMIT TO LOW CARBON SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION, REDUCE FOOD WASTE AND CLIMATE FRIENDLY FOOD. COMMIT TO SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS. COMMIT TO CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENT LAND MANAGEMENT. LEAD BY EXAMPLE TO SUPPORT TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE. WE ARE PLEASED TO REPORT THAT IN YEAR THREE OF IMPLEMENTING THE C CAP, WE HAVE TOUCHED ON ABOUT 48 OF THE 58 ACTION ITEMS, SO ROUGHLY ABOUT 83% OF THEM. EACH ACTION ITEM IS, OF COURSE, AT VARYING LEVELS OF, EXCUSE ME, VARYING LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT. AND WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE UNDER 58 ACTIONS, IT'S ACTUALLY AN ACTIVE LIVE INK THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO A MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION OF WHAT THOSE ACTIONS ARE AND WHAT THE STRATEGIES ARE FOR IMPLEMENTING THEM, AND HOW WE ADDRESS PROGRESS. SO TO GO A BIT DEEPER INTO THE EIGHT PRIORITIES, I'LL START WITH LEADING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE, BECAUSE THIS IS AN OVERARCHING BEHAVIOR. EXCUSE ME, ALLERGIES, AN OVERARCHING BEHAVIOR APPLICABLE TO OTHER TO THE OTHER SEVEN KEY PRIORITIES. PART OF WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IS ESTABLISHING. THANK YOU. IT'S ESTABLISHING THE CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE TO DRIVE SYSTEMIC AND CULTURAL CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. THE CREATION OF DSR IN OCTOBER 2023 IS AN EXAMPLE OF OF SUCH AN EFFORT. AS DEPICTED BY THE GRAPHIC. DSR TAKES A HOLISTIC AND SYSTEMS APPROACH BY COORDINATING AND INTEGRATING THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY IN CENTRAL OFFICE OPERATION, IN TANDEM WITH THE SCHOOL'S ACADEMIC PHASES TO INCLUDE CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENTS, CLASSROOM LEARNING AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP. TO PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR THE EMERGING ECONOMY IN FIELDS LIKE RENEWABLE ENERGY, SMART AGRICULTURE, AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, IT FOSTERS CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS. A RELEVANT COMPONENT OF THIS WORK IS OBTAINING FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO SUPPLEMENT OUR GENERAL FUND, PARTICULARLY IN TIMES LIKE THIS WHEN WE ARE FACING FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS. SO WITHIN THE PAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS, WE HAVE SECURED CAPITAL FOR PROJECTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ABOUT 10 TO $15 MILLION IN GRANTS. WE HAVE ALSO CONTINUED TO FORGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS TO LEVERAGE RESOURCES FOR MUTUAL BENEFITS. WE'VE MAINTAINED TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY BY REPORTING ON PROGRESS ALONG THE WAY THROUGH QUARTERLY IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS, DIVISION UPDATES, QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER, ANNUAL REPORTS, BI MONTHLY BOARD CAP, AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING, WHICH IS CHAIRED BY BOARD MEMBER STRUTHERS AND SEVERAL OTHER METHODS. WE'VE ALSO IDENTIFIED KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR INCLUSION IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN. ALSO, JUST TO MENTION BRIEFLY, WE ARE HUMBLED TO HAVE GAINED A NUMBER OF NATIONAL NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR OUR EFFORTS IN IMPLEMENTING IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN, THE MOST RECENT BEING THE NSBA NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION GRAND PRIZE FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS EFFORTS, WHICH I BELIEVE SUPERINTENDENT JOSEPH CHAIR JACKSON AND BOARD MEMBER STRUTHERS WERE AT TO ACCEPT ON OUR BEHALF LAST WEEK. WITH REGARDS TO CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT DURING THE 2024 2025 SCHOOL YEAR, STUDENT CURRICULUMS WERE ENHANCED BY ADDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND OR 
          [00:10:05]
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE LITERACY IN THE FOLLOWING CONTENT AREAS SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, HEALTH FINANCE, HBO AND SCIENCE SCIENCE CENTER AND WILLIAM S SMITH OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER. 
          IN THIS CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR, ENHANCEMENTS ARE BEING CURATED IN THE AREAS OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATER, MONTESSORI AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE AREAS OF STAFF, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING IN COLLABORATION WITH PGC SCIENCE OFFICE, THE SMITH CENTER, AND SEVERAL EXTERNAL PARTNERS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE CLIMATE CHANGE 101 CLIMATE SIMULATIONS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, AND THOSE TRAINING USUALLY AVERAGE ABOUT 300 TO 400 PARTICIPANTS. SO WE ARE REACHING A FAIR NUMBER OF FOLKS, AND WE HOPE TO HAVE FUTURE TRAINING IN THE AREAS OF ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. SO I'M GOING TO STOP RIGHT THERE, AND I'M GOING TO NOW TURN IT OVER TO MISS SHEILA STEVENS, WHO FOCUSES MORE ON ENERGY MANAGEMENT, RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND I GUESS, CLEAN TRANSPORTATION. AND SHE'S GOING TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES IN THOSE AREAS. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. PRIORITY TWO SERVES AS A STRATEGIC TOOL TO BROADEN OUR ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES. ONCE DATA COLLECTION IS FINALIZED WITH THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER BENCHMARKING PLATFORM, WE WILL INTEGRATE ENERGY USE INTENSITY AS A KEY PERFORMANCE METRIC. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY AGING AND UNDERPERFORMING INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH THE SPECIFIC LENS OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY. I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT FOUR NOTEWORTHY INITIATIVES THAT ARE INSTRUMENTAL IN DRIVING OUR PROGRESS. THANK YOU. SO LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT ENERGY EFFICIENCY THROUGH THE UTILITY REBATES. TO DATE, WE'VE SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATED OVER 260 PROJECTS. THAT HAS RESULTED IN OVER 10 MILLION IN REBATES. OUR SUCCESS IS ALSO BOLSTERED BY EXTERNAL FUNDING THROUGH SPECIFIC FUNDING THROUGH THE MTA. DECARBONIZATION GRANTS THROUGH OUR NOTE, THROUGH A NO COST PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMPOWER MARYLAND, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A VIRTUAL COMMISSIONING PROGRAM ACROSS 30 SCHOOLS AND IS CURRENTLY ON TRACK TO GENERATE OVER $600,000 IN ANNUAL SAVINGS. THIS SUCCESS SUCCESS REPRESENTS ONLY THE FIRST PHASE OF OUR STRATEGY. 
          WITH SEVERAL MORE SCHOOLS CURRENTLY IN THE MODELING PHASE. THE CAB CALLS FOR A COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY AUDIT TO TARGET THE EXACT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS THAT WILL DRIVE ENERGY SAVINGS. ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING IS A VEHICLE THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY CONSIDERING TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. PRIORITY TWO SERVES AS AN ENGINE FOR THE OPERATIONAL FOCUS STRATEGY THROUGH THE T SIX. TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT WITHIN OUR BUILDINGS, WE CAN PROVIDE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE PATH TO DECARBONIZATION, ENSURING THAT SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS ARE FUNDED THROUGH REALIZED ENERGY SAVINGS RATHER THAN INCREASED CAPITAL DEBT. 
          BUT THE TRUE VALUE OF THESE INVESTMENTS ISN'T JUST FOUND IN THE HVAC SYSTEM, IT'S FOUND IN OUR CLASSROOM. WE KNOW THAT BUILDING'S PERFORMANCE DIRECTLY AFFECTS A STUDENT'S PERFORMANCE BY STRICTLY ADHERING TO OUR INDOOR AIR QUALITY STANDARDS AND ENSURING ADEQUATE VENTILATION, WE CREATE A HEALTHIER, MORE ALERT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. THIS SLIDE IS A COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO RECENT NEW BUILDS, ONE WITH THE TRADITIONAL HVAC SYSTEM AND THE OTHER WITH THE GEOTHERMAL. ELLEN OCHOA MIDDLE SCHOOL INTEGRATES GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY. THIS GEOTHERMAL MECHANICAL CHOICE IS THE PRIMARY DRIVER BEHIND NEARLY A TWO AND A HALF INCREASE IN ENERGY SAVINGS. THIS INVESTMENT PAYS FOR THEMSELVES FASTER THAN TRADITIONAL BUILT. WE HAVE ALREADY SECURED OVER $568,000 COMBINED IN UTILITY INCENTIVES FOR JUST THESE TWO SCHOOLS ALONE. THAT DIRECTLY OFFSETS THE INITIAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION, NOT TO MENTION THE GEOTHERMAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDITS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON, AND THE ANNUAL UTILITY SAVINGS ARE JUST AS SIGNIFICANT OVER A 20 YEAR BUILDING LIFECYCLE, ELENA ALONE WILL RETURN OVER 3.3 MILLION TO THE DISTRICT, WITH, OF COURSE, THE ASSUMPTION OF PROPER MANAGEMENT OF SCHEDULING PROTOCOLS. ALTHOUGH THE SOLAR INSTALLATIONS ARE NOT YET ENERGIZED, BUT THEY WILL BE SOON, HOPEFULLY THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS READY TO PROVIDE AN EVEN DEEPER SAVINGS FOR US. THIS IS A BLUEPRINT FOR FISCAL STABILITY. SPENDING WISELY ON INFRASTRUCTURE TODAY TO ENSURE WE AREN'T OVERSPENDING WITH UTILITIES FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS. MOVING ON TO PRIORITY THREE. AS WE COMMIT TO A ZERO EMISSIONS FUTURE, OUR DEMAND FOR ELECTRICITY WILL SURELY SURGE. SO TO MEET OUR AMBITIOUS GOALS OF 100% CLEAN ELECTRICITY BY 2030, WE ARE FOLLOWING A THREE PRONGED STRATEGY ONE, REDUCING OUR LOAD THROUGH AGGRESSIVE EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION. TWO, PRODUCING MORE ELECTRICITY ON SITE THROUGH OUR ROOFTOP SOLAR PROGRAMS, AND THREE STRATEGIC 
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CONTRACTING FOR RENEWABLES TO COVER THE REMAINING BALANCE. PRIORITY THREE WILL SERVE AS A ROADMAP TO ENSURE THE CPS IS POWERED BY CLEAN AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY. WE'RE MAKING INCREDIBLE STRIDES IN HARVESTING SOLAR POWER. WE CURRENTLY HAVE FIVE SCHOOLS THAT ARE ENERGIZED AND OPERATIONAL, AND WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING SEVEN MAJOR ROOFTOP INSTALLATIONS, AND THEY ARE ONGOING. BEYOND OUR ROOFTOPS. 
          WE'RE GETTING CREATIVE ON HOW WE SECURE AND SOURCE CLEAN ENERGY THROUGH COMMUNITY SOLAR. 
          WE HAVE ENTERED INTO A POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT THAT WILL ALLOW US TO PURCHASE UP TO 2.5MW OF CLEAN ENERGY, OFFSETTING OUR COST AND OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT WITHOUT NEEDING TO PUT A SINGLE SOLAR PANEL ON ANY OF THOSE SCHOOLS IN THAT PROGRAM. AND TO MANAGE THIS VOLUME OF WORK EFFECTIVELY, WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING AN RFP TO ESTABLISH A BENCH OF 4 TO 6 ON CALL SOLAR VENDORS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO MOVE FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY ON ALL FUTURE SOLAR DEVELOPMENTS. AND FINALLY, NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT AGGRESSIVE PURSUIT OF FUNDING. TO DATE, OUR GEOTHERMAL AND SOLAR MBA GRANTS HAVE TOTALED OVER $6.2 MILLION. AND FINALLY, I TURN TO. PRIORITY FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION IS DRIVEN BY SIX CRITICAL ACTIONS DESIGNED TO SLASH OUR TRANSPORTATION RELATED EMISSIONS. A RECENT COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT WAS CONDUCTED THAT LED TO THE MODIFICATION OF BUS ROUTES, REMOVING 3000 UNNECESSARY STEPS, WHICH MEANS LESS OVERHEAD AND LESS EMISSIONS. AND I'M PROUD TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE SECURED OVER $6.8 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING SPECIFICALLY FOR OUR ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS PROGRAM. CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 21 ELECTRIC BUSSES IN OUR INVENTORY, WITH EIGHT MORE TO BE PURCHASED IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND TO SUPPORT OUR INVENTORY OF OUR ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSSES, WE ARE AGGRESSIVELY BUILDING OUR CHARGING CAPABILITIES AND CURRENTLY HAVE AN RFP OPEN FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AT BOTH CROSSLAND AND GREENBELT BUS LOTS. WE ARE UTILIZING A $1.6 MILLION GRANT FROM MTA TO DEVELOP THOSE CHARGING STATIONS THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF CHARGING 16 BUSSES PER SITE. THANK YOU. SORRY. DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND BOARD OF EDUCATION. GOOD AFTERNOON. MY NAME IS CRISTINA GARCIA STARLING. I'M A PROGRAM MANAGER HERE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE WITH EXPERIENCE IN THE CIVIL ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. TODAY WE WILL HIGHLIGHT THE WORK IN ACHIEVING THE GOALS AND PRIORITY FIVE REDUCE FOOD WASTE AND GROW CLIMATE FRIENDLY FOOD. PRIORITY SIX COMMIT TO SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT. COMMIT PRIORITY SEVEN COMMIT TO CLIMATE RESILIENT LAND MANAGEMENT. SO LET'S GET RIGHT TO IT. FOR PRIORITY FIVE, WE HAVE EXPANDED PARTNERSHIP WITH FOOD SYSTEM AGENCIES AND NONPROFITS, SUCH AS THE OFFICE OF FOOD SECURITY, OFFICE OF PLANNING, NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AND OUR OWN PGC, KOREAN TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, AND FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES TO CREATE PROCUREMENT PATHWAYS THAT MAKE IT EASIER FOR LOCAL FOOD AGGREGATORS TO QUALIFY AND PARTICIPATE IN FUTURE. RFPS ALSO FARM TO SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES SUCH AS TASTE TESTS, FARM TOURS AND WASTE DIVERSION CAMPAIGNS. ILLUSTRATED HERE ARE THE TEST RESULTS FROM A STUDENT MEMBER OF THE BOARD STUDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL THAT SPEARHEADED A TEST A TASTE TESTING EVENT TO INCREASE THE VARIETY OF MORE DESIRABLE, EDIBLE, ETHNICALLY DIVERSE FOOD FOR STUDENTS TO REDUCE CAFETERIA FOOD WASTE AND ADDRESS STUDENTS COMPLAINTS ABOUT FOOD CHOICES. OVERALL, TASTE TEST RESULTS SHOW OVER 80% FAVORABILITY WITH THE KOREAN BARBECUE MEATBALL AND PLANT BORN TACO FILLING. STUDENTS VOTED ON APPEARANCE, TEXTURE, TASTE AND SMELL. AS YOU SEE HERE. ALSO, THE DATA SHOWS THE COMPOSTING PROGRAM, WHICH IS EXPANDING RECYCLING AND WASTE DIVERSION UP TO NOW. CURRENTLY IN THIS YEAR WE HAVE 1.6 MILLION POUNDS OF WASTE THAT'S BEING DIVERTED FROM THE LANDFILL. THANK YOU. PRIORITY SIX SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT. THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 0111 REDUCTION OF WASTE FOOD WAS CREATED BY DSR WITH THE PURPOSE TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES FOR UTILIZING FOOD RESOURCES AND DECREASING WASTE FOOD IN PGK. BY REDUCING WASTE IN THE CAFETERIA. SCHOOLS WILL ALSO SATISFY SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF MARYLAND GREEN SCHOOLS PROGRAMS, WHILE FOSTERING A CULTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP. 
          THESE OPPORTUNITIES ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO HAVE A VOICE AND FEEL EMPOWERED TO ADDRESS THEIR 
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CONCERNS, AS WELL AS TO LEARN ABOUT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GREEN JOB FORCE. A SIMILAR STUDENT LED ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION THAT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS WHEN STUDENTS FELT COMPELLED TO BRING THEIR CONCERNS TO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ABOUT THE USE OF PLASTIC BAGS IN THE CAFETERIA, WHICH HAD BEEN BANNED IN THE COUNTY TO INCORPORATE STUDENT FEEDBACK. WITH OUR COLLABORATION, THE PLASTIC BAG INITIATIVE WAS RESOLVED AND PLASTIC BAGS ARE NO LONGER BEING USED DURING BREAKFAST SERVICE. THESE PARTNERSHIPS SUPPORT PROGRAMS THAT FOSTER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SUCH AS EARTH DAY AND INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO A GREEN CAREER. 
          PATHWAYS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, AND CERTIFICATIONS THAT COVER PLANT ANATOMY, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, CONSERVATION, LANDSCAPING, AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT. IT'S NOTED TO SAY THAT WEEK THREE SCIENCE LESSON FOR ALL K THROUGH FIVE IS WASTE DIVERSION. PRIORITY SEVEN COMMIT TO CLIMATE RESILIENT LAND MANAGEMENT. SUSTAINABLE GREEN SPACES FOR COMMUNITY BENEFIT INITIATIVE SUPPORTS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD SUSTAINABILITY POLICY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLAN. THE PURPOSE OF THIS INITIATIVE IS TO ESTABLISH A STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS INTERESTED IN DEVELOPING FOOD, FORESTS, COMMUNITY GARDENS AND OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PGCC. MORE SO, TO DO THIS IN A MANNER THAT ENSURES SAFETY MEETS OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROTECTS THE PROPERTY INTERESTS OF PGCC, THIS INITIATIVE WILL EFFECTIVELY PREVENT OR MITIGATE UNDESIRABLE ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE IMPACTS, PROMOTE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND LAND STEWARDSHIP, CREATE CONSERVATION LANDSCAPE, INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL BASED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AS SEEN IN SUITLAND HIGH SCHOOL WITH THE EXTERIOR LEARNING TERRACE AND OUTDOOR COMMONS. ENHANCE CLIMATE SCIENCE LEARNING AND REFLECT A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY, EQUITY AND THE STUDENT AS A WHOLE. AGAIN, PGC IS TAKING THE LEAD IN RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT AND ADDRESSING THE EQUITY CHALLENGES THAT ARISE WITH DECREASING URBAN FOREST HEAT AND FLOOD ZONES THAT IMPACT OUR SCHOOLS. WE ARE NOT ONLY REDUCING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT THROUGH TREE SEQUESTRATION, BUT ALSO INCORPORATING MODERN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS. THESE ADVANCED ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDE WATER QUALITY TREATMENT TO CLEAN IT FROM POLLUTANTS AND WATER CONTROL. AS IN THE CASE WITH COLIN POWELL ACADEMY, WHERE A 1.1 MILLION GALLONS OF STORMWATER RUNOFF WAS DIVERTED TO REDUCE FLOODING ZONES FROM THE SCHOOL AND NEARBY COMMUNITY, COLIN POWELL ACADEMY WILL BE FURTHER DEVELOPED AS A RESILIENT EDUCATIONAL HUB TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY, PREPAREDNESS AND SAFETY TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY EXTREME WEATHER. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU AND JUST WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT AND YOUR LEADERSHIP BECAUSE DEFINITELY HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS IMPACT OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. THANK YOU AGAIN. DOES THAT CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION? THANK YOU. YES. 
          THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION. OKAY. BOARD MEMBERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHTY, I, I DO, I DO WANT TO TAKE A SECOND TO RECOGNIZE BOARD MEMBER OTHER AND HER EFFORT AS AS YOU DID ACKNOWLEDGE, WE DID RECEIVE AN AWARD AT NSBA THIS PAST WEEKEND IN SAN ANTONIO. SO I WANT TO YIELD THE FLOOR TO BOARD MEMBER. JUST TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR JACKSON, AND THANK YOU TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE. 
          THE NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION A YEAR AGO TEAMED WITH THE GO GREEN INITIATIVE TO PRIORITIZE INDOOR AIR QUALITY AS AS PART OF THE MISSION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND CREATED THE MAGNA AWARDS, WHICH HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A VERY LONG TIME, WAS REDEFINED TO TO BE SPECIFICALLY ON THIS ISSUE. AND THE THE WAY THE AWARD WORKED WAS THAT IT REALLY WAS CRITERIA BASED TO SORT OF JUDGE YOUR YOURSELF AGAINST AGAINST THIS CRITERIA TOWARDS EXCELLENCE AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT. AND PPG. CPS HAS BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE A GREAT TEAM IN THIS DEPARTMENT FOR, FOR MANY YEARS. AND I'LL NOTE SORT OF THE, THE, THE ALEX BAYLOR, WHO IS OUR ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST AND THE TEAM OF ANTOINE TAYLOR AND SAM STEFANELLI AND OF COURSE, CEO DOCTOR COLEMAN, AND NOW THE DEPARTMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE, 
          [00:25:04]
AND SHEILA STEVENS AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT, ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND OTHERWISE. AND THE. SO WHAT WE LEARNED, WE LEARNED WHERE WE COULD, WHAT WE WERE DOING WELL AND WHAT WE COULD DO BETTER. 
          AND WE. THE BOARD PASSED A NEW POLICY ON INDOOR AIR QUALITY FOR. TO MEET THE CRITERIA OF THE AWARD, AND THE TEAM DID AN IN-DEPTH PLAN THAT. WE WERE INFORMED THAT NOT ONLY WE RECEIVED THE GRAND PRIZE, BUT NOT ONLY DID WE EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, BUT WE WERE SO FAR BEYOND OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT THEY'RE HAPPY THAT WE CAN NOW BE ROLE MODELS THROUGHOUT THE NATION. AND SO OUR TEAM WAS WELL RECOGNIZED THIS PAST WEEKEND AND, AND SAN ANTONIO. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS AWARD POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR THAT. BOARD MEMBER. THANK YOU. AND I AND I KNOW DOCTOR JOSEPH CAN ATTEST TO THIS TOO. 
          WHEN WE WERE BACKSTAGE BEFORE, WE DIDN'T GET THE AWARD. THE MODERATOR PULLED US TO THE SIDE AND SAID, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY. THE DATA THAT WE PROVIDED IN THE APPLICATION THAT WE PROVIDED, THEY SAID OUR EVIDENCE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE SURPASSES EVERY OTHER BOARD IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY SAID EVERY EVERYBODY WHO PUT IN, THEY DIDN'T COME CLOSE TO US. SO YEAH, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK. IT'S IT'S A REALLY GOOD JOB. ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD BEFORE WE MOVE TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION? ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO 5.2. OH, SORRY. I WANTED TO SWITCH BACK TO. OKAY, OKAY. BOARD MEMBER CJ. I MEAN EXCUSE ME, JACKSON SAUNDERS THAT'S ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING ME. LISTEN, I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE DEPARTMENT AND OF COURSE, THIS BOARD FOR THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE. AS A NEWLY APPOINTED BOARD MEMBER. I JOINED THE CROWD RECEIVING THE AWARD LIKE I HAD ALWAYS BEEN HERE. BUT I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT HAS HAS HAS GONE IN BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS FOR OUR STUDENTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO THEIR LEARNING. AND SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT. BUT TO THAT END, I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW ARE WE PUBLICLY DISPLAYING AND REPORTING THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE? SO AS I MENTIONED IN MY I GUESS EARLIER PRESENTATION, WE HAVE VARIOUS REPORTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE WAY OF DOING IT. BUT WE REALIZED THAT WE COULD DO BETTER IN TERMS OF PUTTING THE MESSAGE OUT THERE. AND WE ARE WORKING WITH A TEAM OF CONSULTANTS TO HELP US WITH, I GUESS YOU CAN CALL IT THE MARKETING PIECE OF THINGS AND ENGAGING MORE COMMUNITIES AND THE PUBLIC. THANK YOU DOCTOR. 
          YES. I JUST WANT TO ECHO THE SENTIMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE AND JUST CONGRATULATE YOU ALL. AGAIN. I WAS IN SAN ANTONIO AS WELL. AND, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO RECEIVING THE AWARD, WE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN A PANEL. AND SO BOARD MEMBER BOOZER STRUTHERS WAS ABLE TO REPRESENT THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE ALONGSIDE A NUMBER OF OTHER DISTRICTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND IT WAS GREAT TO TO JUST HEAR IT IN REAL TIME AND TO BE ABLE TO WITNESS OTHERS REALLY SOAKING IN AND BEING EXTREMELY IMPRESSED AND, AND OFTEN INSPIRED, I'M SURE, BY THE WORK. SO JUST A HUGE KUDOS TO YOU ALL AND YOUR TEAM FOR WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED HERE. SO JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I DID HAVE A QUICK QUESTION OR COMMENT AND QUESTION. SO I'M ALWAYS PLEASED TO VISIT SCHOOLS AND SEE EVIDENCE OF THIS WORK IN REAL TIME AND SOMETIMES IN SMALL WAYS, AND SOMETIMES IN, YOU KNOW, RATHER LARGE WAYS THAT ARE EXTREMELY EVIDENT WHERE, WHETHER IT BE A SMALL GARDEN IN THE CENTER OF THE SCHOOL THAT THEY'RE USING IN UNIQUE WAYS, OR EVEN MEETING SOME OF OUR PARTNERS IN REAL TIME IN THE BUILDINGS WHO ARE JUST REALLY EXCITED AND PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS WORK AS WELL. SO I'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE EXPLORING ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND PUTTING OUT NEW RFPS TO CONTINUE THIS WORK. I JUST HAD A REALLY SIMPLE QUESTION, ACTUALLY, AND YOU MAY HAVE MENTIONED THIS ABOUT THE COMPOSTING. SO I SAW THERE IN THE DATA THAT FOR THIS YEAR, IT LOOKED LIKE THE NUMBER OF AND I DON'T I'M NOT A COMPOST EXPERT, ALTHOUGH MY HUSBAND IS IN LOVE WITH COMPOSTING RIGHT NOW, I SEE THAT THE COMPOST RATE IS LOWER THIS YEAR. IS IT JUST BECAUSE THE POINT IN TIME AND WHERE WE PULLED THE DATA FOR THIS YEAR, AND ARE WE ON TRACK TO KIND OF CONTINUE TO GROW AND INCREASE IN THAT AREA? I'M JUST WONDERING. YEAH. AND I GUESS CHRISTINA CAN COME OVERSEES THAT. SHE CAN GO INTO MORE 
          [00:30:03]
DETAIL, BUT AS FAR AS I KNOW, THE SCHOOL YEAR HASN'T ENDED YET, SO THERE'S MORE TO COME. I KNOW WE HAD SOME CONTRACTING ISSUES AS WELL. AND ANOTHER THING I ALSO WANTED TO POINT OUT WITH TIME, WE ACTUALLY WANT THE COMPOSTING TO GO DOWN. AND I SAY THAT IF THE KIDS ARE EATING MORE OF THE FOOD IN THE CAFETERIA, THAT MEANS YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE LESS WASTE. SO WE WANT TO SEE THAT GO UP FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, BUT THEN WE ALSO WANT TO SEE GO DOWN OVER TIME, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. NO, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. OKAY. YEAH, THAT MAKES PERFECT SENSE. 
          OKAY, OKAY. THAT'S FANTASTIC. AGAIN, MINOR QUESTION WAS JUST A CURIOSITY AS I'M LEARNING AS WELL. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANKS. SURE. GO AHEAD. HI. THERE IS AN EARTH DAY EVENT ON MONDAY, APRIL 20TH AT NORTHVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AND WE ARE PARTNERING WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND MSD AS WELL. SO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I GUESS I HAVE A QUESTION. I THINK FOR THAT EACH OF YOU HAVING THE PARTICULAR EXPERTISE COULD ANSWER FROM YOUR VANTAGE POINT. BUT WHAT WHAT WOULD BE SOME OF THE TOP REQUESTS YOU WOULD HAVE OF THIS BOARD TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO AND CONSIDERING AS YOU AS YOU NOTE, THE PROGRESS ON THE ACTION ITEMS OF BEING AT ABOUT 83% OF THE 58 ACTIONS ARE THEIR THEIR TOP SORT OF ADVOCACY, NOT KNOWLEDGE AND ADVOCACY THAT WE COULD BE SPEAKING TO AS WE MEET FUNDERS AND, AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE COULD SUPPORT THE PLAN. BOARD MEMBER. IF I COULD START. 
          YEAH, IF I COULD START, I THINK ONE OF THE AREAS THAT I WOULD REQUEST AND THAT WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN SUPPORT FROM THE BOARD AROUND, IS CONTINUING TO HAVE A SPACE FOR DIALOG AROUND WHAT ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION LOOKS LIKE. AT TIMES, THERE ARE OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS THAT HAVE TO BE CONFRONTED AGAINST THE GOALS SET BY THE PLAN. THERE ARE ALSO FISCAL REALITIES THAT CAN RUN COUNTER TO THE PLAN, BUT YOU AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HAVE CARVED OUT A SPACE, WHETHER IT BE THROUGH THE AD HOC COMMITTEE OR OTHER VENUES, FOR US TO DISCUSS REALISTICALLY HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD, WHERE WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY NOT BE EXACTLY AS WRITTEN IN THE PLAN. SO JUST CONTINUING TO HAVE THAT SPACE FOR DIALOG AND WHERE THERE CAN BE FLEXIBILITY HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL FOR US AS A TEAM. THANK YOU. DOES. ANY SPECIFIC OTHER AREAS THAT. THE TEAM WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS GO AHEAD. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO HELP THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS GREAT PROGRAM, SO THAT ALL OF OUR STAFF IS AWARE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE FINDING THERE'S A DISCONNECT AND JUST AWARENESS IN GENERAL, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS AND EVEN THE EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON DEVELOPING A NUMBER OF PROCEDURES AND POLICIES THAT WILL BE COMING YOUR WAY. SO WE JUST ASK THAT YOU LOOK AT THEM WITH A WITH AN OPEN LENS OF, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENCY AND, YOU KNOW, IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON THOSE THAT WILL. I AGREE THAT THAT WOULD HELP EVERY, ALL OF OUR PARTNERS AS WELL. YES. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL PRESENTATION. SO MY QUESTION IS MORE SO LOOKING TOWARDS LIKE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND LIKE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE. SO IN THE PRESENTATION, YOU SHARED THAT THERE ARE SOME SOLAR ROOFTOPS ON LIKE THERE'S SOME ROOFTOP SOLAR PANELS ON CURRENT SCHOOLS RIGHT NOW, BUT I WANTED TO KNOW. SO FOR THE REMAINING SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT HAVE AND ALSO THE NEW SCHOOLS THAT ARE STILL BEING CONSTRUCTED, HOW MANY LIKE WHAT IS THE RATIO OF LIKE CURRENT SCHOOLS AND NEW SCHOOLS THAT WILL GET THAT WILL GET LIKE SOLAR PANELS EVERY SCHOOL YEAR OR EVERY SINGLE YEAR? WELL, WE ARE CURRENTLY DEVELOPING AN RFP BECAUSE THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT TOPIC AND ONE THAT EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE AWARE OF SOLAR, RIGHT. SO WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON DEVELOPING AN RFP SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A 4 TO 6 ON CALL SOLAR VENDORS, SO THAT WE HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE WANT TO APPROACH THESE, THIS LARGE PORTFOLIO, BECAUSE WE HAVE OVER 200 BUILDINGS THAT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WITH VARIOUS AGES OF ROOFS. SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THOSE STAGES. 
          SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING ON THAT. I AM EXCITED TO SAY THAT WE HAVE FIVE THAT ARE ENERGIZED AND OPERATING RIGHT NOW. WE ARE CURRENTLY HAVING SEVEN THAT THAT THEY'RE 
          [00:35:01]
ON THE THEY'RE ON THE ROOFS. WE JUST HAVEN'T QUITE ENERGIZED THEM YET. BUT IT'S VERY, VERY CLOSE TO COMING THROUGH. AND THEN OUR NEXT PHASE OF THE P3 SCHOOLS, THEY'LL BE EIGHT OF THEM AND THEY'LL HAVE SOLAR AS WELL. SO WE ARE CURRENTLY DISCUSSING THAT NOW AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE AND SO FORTH. AND THEN ALL OF THE NEW CONSTRUCTED SCHOOLS ARE TO BE BUILT. SOLAR, AT LEAST SOLAR READY PER MARYLAND HIGHER GREEN PERFORMANCE BUILDING STANDARDS THAT'S THERE. AND SO THEN WE'RE JUST GOING TO SLOWLY START CHIPPING AWAY AT THE OLDER AGING INFRASTRUCTURE. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU. I DO I DO WANT TO SAY ONE MORE THING ON THE BACK OF, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE THE SBA CONFERENCE, I JUST WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU KNOW, DOCTOR COLEMAN, WE WERE STOPPED AT AN SBA AND SOMEBODY GAVE DIRECTOR KYLA BALDWIN KUDOS. A LOT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW WE TRANSPORT. WE SUCH A LARGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND WE TRANSPORT SO MANY KIDS. AND THEY WERE JUST GIVING US KUDOS FOR THE PROGRESS THAT WE MADE IN TRANSPORTATION. SO I DID WANT TO RECOGNIZE YOU ON THE DAIS FOR THAT. BOARD MEMBER. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN REFLECTING. I'M ALWAYS IN A STATE OF REFLECTION ON THE WORK OF OUR OPERATIONS TEAM AS A PART OF PGC. AND IT DAWNED ON ME THIS WEEK AS I WAS REFLECTING, THAT THE DIVISION OF OPERATIONS HAS EARNED THREE NATIONAL AWARDS THIS YEAR ALONE, THE PROXIMAL THE PROXIMAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE YEAR AWARD, THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AND NOW THE MAGNA AWARD WINNING PROGRAM OUT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY. SO IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE HARD WORK OF OUR TEAM. THEY ARE COMMITTED. 
          THEY ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE, AND I'M JUST HUMBLED TO BE A PART OF THEM. THANK YOU. 
          PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, WE'RE ON THE RISE. ALRIGHT. MOVING FORWARD TO 5.2. THE CHAIRMAN RECOGNIZES DOCTOR JOSEPH FOR THE COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU, BOARD CHAIR JACKSON, OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAMS WILL TALK ABOUT THE VITAL WORK THAT THEY ARE DOING EVERY DAY FOR OUR STUDENTS, PARENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS. THEIR WORK IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST MANAGING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS OR DRAFTING DRAFTING PRESS RELEASES. IT'S REALLY ABOUT BUILDING A CULTURE RESPONSIVE, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE BRIDGE BETWEEN OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR FAMILIES. IT'S ALSO ABOUT TRANSPARENCY, EQUITY AND REAL PARTNERSHIP, MAKING SURE THAT NO MATTER WHAT LANGUAGE A FAMILY SPEAKS OR WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD THEY LIVE IN, THEY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE AND THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO HELP CHILDREN SUCCEED. OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE OUR COMMUNICATIONS ISN'T JUST MORE NOISE IN THE INBOX, BUT VITAL INFORMATION AND A LINK THAT CONNECTS OUR BIG ROCKS AND OUR PRIORITIES DIRECTLY TO OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. YOU'LL NOW HEAR FROM THEM ABOUT HOW THEY'RE MOVING THE MISSION FORWARD. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND COMMUNITY. I'M MEGAN THORNTON, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. A SCHOOL DISTRICT'S WORK ONLY MATTERS IF PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND IT, IF THEY CAN ACCESS IT AND IF THEY CAN ACT ON IT. OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT TEAMS WORK AS DISTILLERS AND CONNECTORS. WE TAKE THE DISTRICT'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND BOIL DOWN COMPLEXITY, FILTER OUT NOISE AND CONDENSE IT INTO WHAT IS CLEAR, ACCESSIBLE, AND ACTIONABLE. WE THEN ENSURE IT FLOWS THROUGH THE PROPER CHANNELS TO REACH THE END USER. IT'S ABOUT THE FAMILY WHO'S WEIGHING THEIR ACADEMIC OPTIONS, OR THE MANY FAMILIES WHO ARE NAVIGATING OUR DISTRICT AS NEWCOMERS TO THIS COUNTY AND TO THIS COUNTRY. IT'S ABOUT ENSURING OUR COLLEAGUES ARE CLEAR ON BOTH THE DISTRICT'S DIRECTION AND THEIR ROLE IN DELIVERING ON OUR MISSION. IT'S ABOUT EQUIPPING OUR SCHOOL LEADERS WITH THE CLARITY, THE TOOLS AND THE SUPPORT TO LEAD DECISIVELY SO THAT THE EXPERIENCE ACROSS OUR 200 SCHOOLS IS CONSISTENT, COHERENT, AND NOT LEFT TO CHANCE. AT THE CORE OF ALL WE DO ARE THE DISTRICT'S BIG ROCKS. 
          EVERY MESSAGE, EVERY CAMPAIGN, EVERY TOUCHPOINT IS CRAFTED SO THAT OUR MORE THAN 132,000 FAMILIES, 22,000 STAFF AND COUNTLESS OTHER STAKEHOLDERS RECEIVE NOT JUST INFORMATION, BUT CLARITY, CONNECTION, AND THE CONFIDENCE TO ACT. WHILE OUR WORK ACROSS THE BIG ROCKS IS EXTENSIVE, HERE ARE JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS THAT REFLECT HOW WE'RE EXPANDING OUR COMMUNICATIONS FOOTPRINT THIS SCHOOL YEAR. LAST SUMMER, THE 100 DAY LISTENING SESSIONS 
          [00:40:02]
LAUNCHED AS PART OF DOCTOR JOSEPH'S 100 DAY PLAN. THE FEEDBACK WE GATHERED DIRECTLY SHAPED THE BIG ROCKS. IN JANUARY, WE HOSTED THE DISTRICT'S FIRST STATE OF THE SCHOOLS ADDRESS IN MORE THAN A DECADE, DEMONSTRATING HOW WE'RE ALIGNING INVESTMENTS TO ACCELERATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE ACROSS THE DISTRICT. THAT WHICH WE WISH TO SCALE. WE'VE ALSO TAKEN A MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH TO THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF THIS WORK, INTRODUCING TARGETED TOUCHPOINTS WITH LEGISLATORS, INCLUDING A WEEKLY NEWS SNAPSHOT AND A LEGISLATIVE BRIEF THROUGHOUT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION. WE'VE PRIORITIZED CONSISTENT, TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION SINCE DAY ONE. DOCTOR JOSEPH'S MONDAY MESSAGE HAS CONNECTED WITH OUR 22,000 STAFF WEEKLY, OFTEN INVITING FEEDBACK AND CAPTURING STAFF SENTIMENT. ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN STRONG, WITH OPEN RATES REACHING UPWARDS OF 70%, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT BY INDUSTRY STANDARDS. THIS IS CRITICAL AS WE SEEK TO REDUCE VARIANCE AND ENSURE STAFF ARE AWARE OF DIRECTIONS AND PRIORITIES. FINALLY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FINANCE, WE LAUNCHED A MULTIFACETED CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE AND BUILD UNDERSTANDING AROUND A CHALLENGING FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET. I WILL NOW PASS IT ON TO DOCTOR SHEILA JACKSON AND MISS DENISE DOUGLAS, WHO EACH WILL SHARE MORE ABOUT OUR CORE WORK AND HOW IT'S ADVANCING DISTRICT PRIORITIES. GOOD EVENING, BOARD MEMBERS. I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IN OUR DISTRICT TO REALLY BUILD CONNECTION. AND I WANT TO START WITH TALKING ABOUT WHAT STARTED AS SOON AS DOCTOR JOSEPH CAME ABOARD LAST YEAR. 
          WE TALK ABOUT ALL THE TIME THAT COMMUNICATION TELLS OUR STORY, BUT IT'S REALLY ABOUT ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS THAT BUILDS OUR CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT. SO WHEN WE STARTED THIS JOURNEY LAST SUMMER WITH DOCTOR JOSEPH'S 100 DAY PLAN, AS AS MEGAN HAS MENTIONED, WE HAD INTENTIONAL AND FOCUSED OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE CREATED AND PROVIDED FOR FAMILIES TO BE ENGAGED. THOSE OPPORTUNITIES RESULTED IN VIRTUAL SESSIONS AT THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE IT WAS THE SUMMER AND WE DECIDED THAT FOR EVERY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT, THERE WAS A SPECIFIC VIRTUAL MEETING HELD WHERE FAMILY MEMBERS COULD MEET THE SUPERINTENDENT VIRTUALLY, BUT ALSO ENGAGE WITH EXECUTIVE STAFF TO LEARN ABOUT SOME OF OUR FOCUS AREAS FOR THIS YEAR. THOSE SESSIONS WERE FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER ROUND OF PARENT ADVISORY SESSIONS, WHERE WE CAME IN PERSON TO MEET WITH FAMILIES IN EVERY BOARD DISTRICT, AND THOSE WERE REALLY SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE OUR INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT AND THE BOARD MEMBER WERE THE HOSTS OF THOSE ENVIRONMENTS, AND ALSO PRESENT WERE ALL MEMBERS OF OUR EXECUTIVE CABINET. SO WHAT WE WERE OFFERING TO PARENTS WERE ABSOLUTE TRANSPARENCY AND OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE US INPUT, AS WELL AS RAISE CONCERNS THAT COULD BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. 
          MANY OF OUR EXECUTIVE STAFF MEMBERS WERE CALLED UPON TO RESPOND IMMEDIATELY TO A CONCERN THAT CAME UP AT THOSE SESSIONS, AND THAT WAS A WONDERFUL WAY TO BEGIN THIS TERM OF WORKING TOGETHER. WE WE WERE WORKING TO PUT BUILD CONFIDENCE, BUILD TRANSPARENCY AND REBUILD TRUST BETWEEN OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION AND STAFF. ANOTHER BIG INITIATIVE THAT WE UNDERTOOK THIS YEAR AND WAS UNPRECEDENTED WAS THE APPROACH TO HOW WE WERE GOING TO GO ABOUT DOING THAT DIFFICULT WORK OF PLANNING AND ESTABLISHING THE BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR FY 27. AND THIS WAS REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE NEEDED TO TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH. AND WHAT THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE TEAM DECIDED TO DO WAS REALLY REACH OUT TO BUILD A BROAD COALITION OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD GIVE US INPUT AND HELP US PLAN EFFECTIVELY FOR THE BUDGET PROPOSAL THAT WAS SUBMITTED, AND THE MEMBERS OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WERE UNION LEADERS WERE STAFF MEMBERS, WERE ELECTED OFFICIALS, OUR COUNTY GOVERNMENT. THERE WERE PARENT REPRESENTATIVES FROM OUR PARENT COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL, FROM OUR DISABILITIES ADVISORY BOARD AND FROM CEC, ALL OF WHOM CAME TOGETHER WITH A MIND OPEN TO MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE SHOWING ALL OF THE DATA, ALL OF THE RESEARCH, AND 
          [00:45:07]
TALKING ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE THE BEST PROPOSAL TO MOVE OUR DISTRICT FORWARD? THOSE COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN ALL OF THOSE IMPORTANT STAKEHOLDERS GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DIG DEEPLY INTO OUR DAILY, DAY TO DAY WORK, LOOK AT OUR OUTCOMES, AND TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE COULD DO BETTER, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS WE MIGHT NEED TO CONSOLIDATE? WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE MIGHT NEED TO LOOK AT DOING DIFFERENTLY GOING FORWARD? BUT AGAIN, IT WAS ALL ABOUT BUILDING THOSE CONNECTIONS, GIVING PARENTS AND COMMUNITY AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD, TO GIVE US INPUT AND TO BE AT THE TABLE WITH US TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. SO I WILL TURN THINGS OVER WITH FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM THIS YEAR'S DENISE DOUGLAS. THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. OKAY. AND THE CLICK IS RIGHT HERE TO CLICK FORWARD. THANK YOU SO MUCH DOCTOR JACKSON AS WELL AS THANK YOU MEGAN. I'LL CLICK FORWARD HERE NOW AS MEGAN MENTIONED AND AS WELL PLEASURE TO BE BEFORE YOU BOARD MEMBERS. AS MEGAN MENTIONED EARLY ON, IF OUR FAMILIES DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM, THEY CAN'T ACCESS IT. AND THAT IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR MULTILINGUAL FAMILIES. AND WE'RE TRULY EXCITED THAT WE HAVE A TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING TEAM THAT WORKS INCREDIBLY HARD TO BREAK DOWN THE BARRIERS IN TERMS OF CULTURE AND LANGUAGE. AND THIS SLIDE RIGHT HERE SHOWS YOU SOME OF THE INCREDIBLE WORK AND THE IMPACT THAT THEY'RE HAVING. YOU CAN SEE UP THERE THAT IN TERMS OF INTERPRETING REQUESTS, OVER 16,000 IN TERMS OF FULFILLMENT, 99%. AND WHAT'S NOT ON THIS SLIDE IS THAT THEY'VE TRANSLATED NEARLY 5 MILLION WORDS ACROSS 19 LANGUAGES. AND THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE RIGHT THERE ARE FROM JULY TO MARCH. NOW, THIS WORK IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT ENSURES THAT OUR FAMILIES ARE TRUE PARTNERS IN THEIR CHILD'S EDUCATION. A PERFECT EXAMPLE IS THE NEARLY 1000 SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSLATIONS THAT WERE COMPLETED FOR DOCUMENTS LIKE IEPS. SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSLATIONS, OR ESPECIALLY CRITICAL DOCUMENTS THAT SHAPE STUDENT SERVICES AND OUTCOMES. SO WHETHER IT'S A FAMILY SPEAKING SPANISH, FRENCH, OR USING ASL, WHAT WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO IS CLEARLY AND SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE THE DISTRICT AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SUPPORTS AND SERVICES ARE FOR THEM. NOW, WITH THE 99% FULFILLMENT RATE, YOU MIGHT ASK WHAT'S NEXT FOR LANGUAGE SERVICES? AND YOU SEE HERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS. I'LL JUST KIND OF POINT OUT A FEW THAT YOU SEE UP THERE THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSLATION, THE PROCESS OF IMPROVING AND STREAMLINING THE WORKFLOW AND THAT THE BOTTOM, THE TEAM IS ALSO WORKING ON DEVELOPING PROCESS RESOURCES AND TOOLS TO STREAMLINE LANGUAGE ACCESS INFORMATION, SUCH AS LANGUAGE ACCESS, SNAPSHOTS, A PROCESS GUIDE, NEW SCHOOL, NEW SAFE SCHOOLS MODULE, AND SO FORTH AND SO ON. SO STILL A LOT ON THE HORIZON THAT THEY'RE WORKING TO ENSURE THAT WE DO THE BEST THAT WE CAN FOR OUR FAMILIES. LANGUAGE ACCESS ENSURES THAT WE ARE HEARD IN TERMS OF OUR WEB SERVICES. YOU SEE NUMBERS THERE. OUR ONLINE PLATFORMS ARE ROBUST, THEY'RE MULTICULTURAL, AND THEY'RE AVAILABLE 24 OVER SEVEN. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT IN ORDER THAT OUR FAMILIES CAN CONNECT WITH US AT ANY TIME. THE DATA THAT YOU SEE RIGHT HERE ALLOWS US TO SEE HOW FAMILIES ARE CONNECTING WITH US. IN LIGHT OF THAT, WE KNOW HOW TO LEVERAGE OUR MESSAGES, CRAFT OUR MESSAGES, AND SHARE INFORMATION BEST. AND SPECIFICALLY, IF WE LOOK, WE CAN SEE THAT OUR FAMILIES ARE ACCESSING THE CALENDAR 646,000 STUDENT RESOURCES. THAT'S A LARGE NUMBER AS WELL. AND PARENT TOOLS, THE OVERALL NUMBER OF VIEWS YOU SEE UP THERE IS 16.5 MILLION. AND IN TERMS OF OUR HOME PAGES, 10.5 MILLION. BUT IT'S CRITICAL IN THE SENSE OF WHAT ARE THEY ACCESSING. HOW CAN WE BETTER PROVIDE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION RELATED TO THOSE SPECIFIC TOPICS? AND AGAIN, LOOKING FORWARD AT WHAT THE WEB TEAM IS WORKING ON. STRENGTHENING ADA TITLE TWO COMPLIANCE BY THE APRIL 26TH DEADLINE. EXPANDING TRAINING FOR SCHOOL AND OFFICE WEB EDITORS, AND CONTINUING TO MODERNIZE DISTRICT WEB SYSTEMS. LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, IS SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS IS WHERE EVERYBODY IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. AND SO CLEARLY THAT'S A CRITICAL AREA FOR US TO CONTINUE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ON TOP OF THE GAME, SO TO SPEAK. IT'S WHERE WE CAN ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN CELEBRATE OUR STUDENTS, OUR STAFF WINS AND SHARE URGENT UPDATES AS 
          [00:50:03]
WELL AS REAL TIME INFORMATION. AND YOU CAN SEE THERE THAT THERE WAS GROWTH IN A NUMBER OF AREAS. WHEN IT COMES TO OUR FACEBOOK, WE WENT FROM 55,000 TO OVER 62,000 FROM LAST SCHOOL YEAR TO THIS SCHOOL YEAR. INSTAGRAM ALSO A BIG IMPROVEMENT, 42,000 TO 59,000, 31,000 TO 34,000. WHEN IT CAME TO THE LINKEDIN PAGE. FACEBOOK IN SPANISH THERE WAS JUST A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT. BUT WHERE WE SEE A LOT OF ACTION IS WITH THE ACTION NEWSLETTER. WITH THAT, THEY HAVE THE HIGHEST OPEN RATE FOR OUTREACH. SO WE KNOW AGAIN, HOW TO REACH OUR AUDIENCE BASED ON THESE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE SEEING. ONE LAST THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT HERE. YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF, WELL, THE GROWTH, BUT WHAT ARE PEOPLE REALLY GOING AFTER? THEY LIKE ACHIEVEMENT POSTS SUCH AS OUR HALL OF FAME GALA AND CELEBRATING OUR STUDENT SUCCESS AND VOICES INFLUENCE AND ACCESS THE FOR EXAMPLE, THE COLIN KAEPERNICK VISIT WHERE WHERE PEOPLE GET TO SEE INSIDE THE CLASSROOM. COMBINE THAT WITH A STAR PRESENCE AND THAT GETS A REALLY HIGH RATING. WE CALL PASSION POST SPORTS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES AND UTILITY POSTS LIKE OUR WEATHER AND SCHOOL INFORMATION, THINGS THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO TAKE ACTION ON. SO TO WRAP THINGS UP, WHETHER IT IS THE NEW AND INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES THAT MEGAN SHARED, THE PARTNERSHIPS AND CONNECTIONS TO GIVE INFORMATION AND GET FEEDBACK FROM FAMILIES AND STAKEHOLDERS THAT DOCTOR JACKSON DISCUSSED, OR THE IMPACT THAT OUR PLATFORMS ARE HAVING THAT I JUST TALKED TO YOU ABOUT. WE ARE FOCUSED ON CONTINUING TO ALIGN THE WORK THAT WE DO WITH THE BIG ROCKS AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT THE DISTRICT THRIVES. AND THAT WRAPS UP OUR PRESENTATION. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. BOARD MEMBERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. 14 DOCTOR SANDOVAL. YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION PROVIDED. I JUST HAD A FEW QUICK QUESTIONS. AND SO DOCTOR JACKSON, SO I KNOW THAT THIS YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE HAD DOLLARS AND DECISIONS, OR AT LEAST IN THE FORMAT THAT WE HAD. AND SO I'M WONDERING WHAT FEEDBACK YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO CAPTURE. AND IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION, ADAPTATIONS OR OTHERWISE. YES, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. AND ACTUALLY, A LOT OF THE FEEDBACK THAT CAME TO US CAME FROM OUR FORMS THAT WE CREATED TO ASK PEOPLE TO GIVE US FEEDBACK IN REAL TIME AS TO WHAT CONCERNS YOU MAY HAVE OR WHAT. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT HOW WE ADDRESSED ISSUES? AND OVERWHELMINGLY, AND I DON'T HAVE NUMBERS IN MY HEAD RIGHT NOW, BUT OVERWHELMINGLY THE FEEDBACK WAS POSITIVE. PEOPLE APPRECIATED HAVING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH EXECUTIVE STAFF OR ENGAGE WITH BOARD MEMBERS AT THOSE BOARD DISTRICT OPPORTUNITIES, BECAUSE THEY HAD NEVER HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS THAT WAY BEFORE. I CAN'T PREDICT THE FUTURE, BUT I THINK I'LL DEFER TO OUR SUPERINTENDENT ABOUT THE FUTURE USE OF THOSE PLATFORMS. OKAY. YEAH, I'LL ADD JUST A QUICK A FEW OTHER THOUGHTS ON IT. PART OF WHAT WE DID THAT WAS UNPRECEDENTED WAS ALSO JUST THE ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR UNIONS, WITH PARTNERS, WITH PARENT LEADERSHIP. AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY APPRECIATED HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN THE FOLD AND GO THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH US AS COLLABORATORS. AND LASTLY, JUST THE COMMUNICATIONS COMPONENT. I CAN'T RECALL A TIME WHERE WE'VE HAD SUCH A ROBUST WEB PORTAL, IN ADDITION TO WEEKLY COMMUNICATIONS WITH STAFF, JUST VERY FOCUSED COMMUNICATIONS ON THE BUDGET. WE ALSO PUSHED THOSE OUT TO OUR FAMILIES IN ENGLISH, SPANISH AND FRENCH, AS WELL AS SOCIAL MEDIA, AND ALSO JUST A FEW. 
          THERE WERE A COUPLE OF COMMUNITY TOWN HALL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES. SO I THINK IT WAS JUST A CROSS-PLATFORM, ROBUST APPROACH TO THE BUDGET THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE. 
          ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT A GREAT STARTING PLACE. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER. OKAY, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL PRESENTATION. MY QUESTION IS ABOUT LIKE THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, LIKE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING. I SEE THAT YOU ALL ARE ALREADY USING X, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND LINKEDIN, WHICH IS ALL GREAT. HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE 
          [00:55:05]
PLATFORM THAT I DIDN'T SEE THERE, WHICH IS TIKTOK, AS YOU KNOW, LIKE A LOT OF YOUTH USE TIKTOK AND TIKTOK IS ANOTHER WAY TO GET LIKE, LIKE YOU CAN CREATE ENGAGING VIDEOS THAT WILL, THAT CAN BE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED TO LIKE YOUNGER PEOPLE LIVING IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY SO THAT YOU CAN GET INFORMATION OUT TO THEM AS WELL, SO THAT THEY'RE NOT LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP OF LIKE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR COUNTY. SO, YOU KNOW, PLEASE CONSIDER IT JUST A SUGGESTION. AND I COMPLETELY LIKE THAT SUGGESTION. IT'S DEFINITELY AN AREA THAT WE HAVE TO GROW IN. IF YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING, FEEL FREE TO. BUT I AGREE WITH YOU. IT'S AN AREA THAT WE HAVE TO GROW IN. WE ARE ON TIKTOK. IT'S JUST BEEN A SLOW RAMP UP. I WOULD SAY IN TERMS OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD STRONGHOLD ON INSTAGRAM WITH STUDENTS. 
          WE'RE CONNECTED TO A LOT OF THE SGA'S, A LOT OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE SEE OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MOST ACTIVE, BUT WE DO HAVE A PLAN TO GROW ON TIKTOK. THANK YOU FOR THAT. BOARD MEMBER. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I ALSO HAD A COMMENT ABOUT DOLLARS AND DECISIONS THAT THERE'S THERE'S NOW WE NEED A COMMUNICATION ABOUT WHERE THINGS ARE IN THE BUDGET PROCESS. I'VE BEEN ASKED MULTIPLE TIMES HOW BIG THE GAP STILL IS COMING OUT OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE SENDING A BUDGET TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL. 
          AND SO I THINK A RECAP WHERE WE ARE AND THAT THESE BUDGET HEARINGS ARE COMING UP WOULD WOULD HELP WITH THAT CONSISTENCY BECAUSE WE WERE, YOU KNOW, VERY VISIBLE. BUT NOW THERE SEEMS TO BE THIS LULL. SO I WOULD I WOULD JUST NOTE THAT. BUT MY BIGGER QUESTION IS AROUND HOW PARENT VIEW, AND ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO NOW USE PARENT VIEW EVERY DAY IS LIKE OUR PRIMARY APP. AND AS A PARENT OF A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, IT'S IN SOME WAYS REPLACED DOJO, YOU KNOW, WHICH I DID REALLY FIND USEFUL FOR INFORMATION. AS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE YOUNGER GRADES, BUT IS THERE A WAY TO NOW, IF THIS USAGE IS INCREASING INTO PARENT VIEW, CAN WE STREAM ALL THE PARENT SESSIONS THAT DOCTOR JACKSON'S DIVISION IS DOING? CAN WE PROMOTE ALL OF THE THE SPECIAL EDUCATION WEBINARS LIKE CAN, CAN, CAN THERE BE A WAY THAT IF, IF PARENT VIEW IS WHERE WE GO EVERY DAY, IF NOT TWICE A DAY, IS IS THERE A WAY TO GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION SHOWING UP IN THERE AS WELL? THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS. THE FIRST COMMENT ON CONTINUING DOLLARS AND DECISIONS ABSOLUTELY AGREE THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR US TO DO A CONTINUATION ON WHERE WE ARE WITH THE PROCESS. WE DID CONTINUE IT BEGINNING LAST WEEK IN THE VEIN OF PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE STRATEGIC WORK GROUP THAT WAS ESTABLISHED, AND JUST MAKING SURE THE COMMUNITY HAD AN UPDATE ON THAT PIECE. REGARDING PARENT VIEW. 
          ABSOLUTELY AGREE. PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, JUST IN TERMS OF MORE ALIGNMENT WITH COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT AND REALLY JUST BEING MOST PRACTICAL ABOUT REACHING FAMILIES. AND I'VE HEARD YOU SAY THIS BEFORE, I'M EVEN PUSHING OUT FAMILY INSTITUTE SESSIONS THROUGH DOJO. I MEAN, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE ON DOJO. WE'VE WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH DOJO ACTUALLY, BECAUSE THEY HAVE AN ENTERPRISE SOLUTION NOW AND WE ARE LOOKING TO REPLACE SCHOOL MESSENGER. SO ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE IDEA OF LEVERAGING DOJO, LEVERAGING PARENT VIEW TO PUSH THOSE SESSIONS. WE'LL CONSIDER. THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER OLIVA. THANK YOU, CHAIR JACKSON. THANKS. AS EVERYBODY HAS SAID FOR THIS GREAT PRESENTATION, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE WEEKLY SNAPSHOT TO ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHICH, THANKS TO MEGAN, WE GOT OUT THROUGHOUT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION, WHICH I THINK WAS INCREDIBLY USEFUL AND REALLY HELPED, YOU KNOW, ENSURE THAT OUR MESSAGE WAS OUT THERE, THAT WE WERE IN THE FOREFRONT. I'M GOING TO I'M GOING TO SUGGEST THAT WE CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING THAT AND, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING OUR COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS AND POTENTIALLY EVEN OUR MUNICIPAL ELECTED OFFICIALS ON THAT. SO WE CAN CHAT ABOUT THAT LATER. AND THEN ONE THING THAT YOU GUYS DIDN'T MENTION THAT I'D LIKE TO JUST CALL OUT AS WELL, IS I THINK YOU'VE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB REALLY ENGAGING LOCAL MEDIA, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, COULDN'T TURN AROUND WITHOUT SEEING OR HEARING DOCTOR JOSEPH ON A LOCAL NEWS STATION OR RADIO STATION THIS, THIS FALL. AND SO JUST, YOU KNOW, REALLY WANTED TO COMMEND THAT. I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE EVER SEEN PG CPS IN A POSITIVE MANNER ON SO MANY NEWS AND BROADCAST STATIONS. SO I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND THAT AS WELL. AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK. THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          AND WE WILL BE CONTINUING THE WEEKLY SNAPSHOT. THANK YOU. GOOD JOB. YEAH. AND NOT NOT 
          [01:00:03]
ONLY THAT, I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE MY COLLEAGUES TOO. YOU KNOW, AT ONE POINT IN TIME EVERY OTHER DAY, YOU SAW A BOARD MEMBER POPPING OUT ON THE INTERVIEW TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, SOLO. SO I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN UNITED IN LIFTING THE PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL NARRATIVE TOGETHER, ALONG WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING. DEFINITELY A BEAUTIFUL THING. YEAH. THAT DESERVES A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO. 
          NEXT UP, WE HAVE BOARD MEMBER JACKSON SAUNDERS. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I ABSOLUTELY ECHO EVERYTHING THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE STATED. GREAT WORK. YOU DID MENTION, HOWEVER, THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. SO IF WE HAVE NOT ADDRESSED OR IF YOU HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THOSE AREAS AS BROUGHT UP BY THE BOARD MEMBERS, WHAT WOULD YOU ITEMIZE FOR US THAT ARE THOSE AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO BE IMPROVED UPON, OR AT LEAST TARGETED FOR IMPROVEMENT? I WOULD SAY, AND I'M HAPPY TO DEFER TO ANY OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE. WE DO HAVE OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS DIRECTOR, DOCTOR JENNIFER LOVE, WHO'S HERE, AS WELL AS OUR WEB SERVICES DIRECTOR, MAX PUGH. I WOULD SAY FOR ME, A MAJOR GOAL GOING INTO THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR IS REALLY JUST MORE ALIGNMENT, REALLY BRINGING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN, IN LOCKSTEP WITH COMMUNICATION. AND I THINK THAT THAT WILL CREATE JUST A MORE ROBUST PRESENCE, MAKING SURE THE COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT, WORKING WITH DOCTOR JACKSON'S TEAM TO MAKE SURE WHAT WE'RE OFFERING IS ALIGNED WITH THE DISTRICT'S PRIORITIES, ALIGNED WITH THE REAL NEED OUT THERE. AND THEN ALSO, I THINK IN MAX COULD SPEAK TO THIS TOO. WE WE'RE CONSTANTLY JUST LOOKING AT DATA TO, TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE CAN IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, SO WHETHER THAT'S SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS, OUR OPEN RATES, OUR WEB. I MEAN, WE'RE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING THE WAY WE CREATE CONTENT. YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, AI SEARCH IS REALLY JUST CHANGING THE WAY PEOPLE ACCESS INFORMATION. SO MAKING. SO IN THINKING ABOUT CAMPAIGNS, JUST MAKING SURE WE ARE OPTIMIZING OUR CONTENT SO THAT IT'S FOUND. AND THEN A HUGE ONE FOR ME IS REALLY JUST EMPOWERING THE SCHOOLS. SO MAKING SURE THAT, I MEAN, BECAUSE WE KNOW AS PARENTS, THE FIRST PLACE I GO FOR INFORMATION IS TO MY CHILD'S SCHOOL WEBSITE. OF COURSE, I'M TUNED IN TO THE DISTRICT WEBSITE IN TERMS OF MY ROLE, BUT FREDERICK DOUGLASS HIGH SCHOOL IS WHERE I GO, AND THEY HAPPEN TO DO A GREAT JOB WITH COMMUNICATION, BUT NOT ALL SCHOOLS DO. SO TRYING TO BRING THEM UP TO BE ABLE TO UPDATE AND MAINTAIN THEIR OWN WEBSITES, ENSURE THAT OUR TEAM IS AVAILABLE TO DO THAT FOR THEM, MAKING SURE THAT WE, OUR OUR MULTIMEDIA TEAM, PRODUCES SO MUCH CONTENT THAT TELLS THE GREAT STORIES OF OUR SCHOOLS. 
          AND WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT THOSE STORIES ARE NOT JUST LIVING ON OUR WEB PAGE, BUT ARE LIVING ON THEIR WEB PAGES, BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY WHEN PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR SCHOOLS, THEY SEE THAT GOOD NEWS. SO REALLY JUST MAXIMIZING AND OPTIMIZING. JUST WANTED TO ADD TO THAT. THANK YOU, BOARD MEMBER OLIVER, FOR NOTICING THE THE MEDIA COVERAGE, BECAUSE THAT IS AN AREA WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND AND HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH CHANNEL SEVEN TO ALLOW THE SUPERINTENDENT TO HAVE A MONTHLY PLATFORM, SO TO SPEAK, TO TALK ABOUT KEY ISSUES IN TERMS OF THE ALIGNMENT THAT BOARD MEMBER JACKSON MENTIONED. THAT'S VERY INTENTIONAL THAT BOTH THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE HAVE SUGGESTED AND RECOMMENDED THAT WE PROVIDE MORE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BOARD AS WELL AS THE COUNTY, SO THAT WE CAN SHARE UNIFIED MESSAGES, AND THEN WE CAN LOOK STRONGER IN TERMS OF AN AREA THAT I THINK THAT WE CAN BUILD IN WOULD BE OUR STORYTELLING. I THINK. I THINK WE DO AN AMAZING JOB, BUT I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF NUGGETS IN THE SCHOOLS AND SO FORTH THAT WE DON'T NECESSARILY GET BECAUSE WE'RE BUSY, WE'RE RUNNING AROUND. SO THOSE KIND OF UNIQUE STORIES WITHIN THE SCHOOLS AND, YOU KNOW, WHEREVER, I MEAN, IT COULD BE HERE, CENTRAL OFFICE AS WELL, THAT WE MAY NOT GET TO TELL ON A DAILY BASIS BECAUSE WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS, I THINK, AN AREA WHERE WE CAN DIG AND REALLY SHINE AS PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION AND THE OPPORTUNITY. ONE OF MY LARGE HOPES IS THAT EVERY SCHOOL IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAS THE CAPACITY TO ESTABLISH A PARENT LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION OF SOME TYPE, WHETHER IT'S PTA, PTO, PTSA, WHATEVER THEY WANT TO CALL IT, IT COULD BE PARENT ADVISORY GROUPS, PARENT ADVISORY MEETINGS WITH THE PRINCIPAL, WITH ADMINISTRATION. I THINK IT'S REALLY CRITICAL THAT WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO EMPOWER 
          [01:05:05]
EVERY SCHOOL COMMUNITY TO BE SURE THAT IT'S EFFECTIVELY ENGAGING AND COMMUNICATING WELL WITH THIS FAMILIES. SO THAT THAT'S ONE OF MY, MY WISH LIST ITEMS. AND WE ARE WORKING TOWARD THAT. WE WORK WITH SCHOOLS DIRECTLY. WE WORK. WE'RE, WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING A BOOK STUDY WITH OUR PRINCIPALS RIGHT NOW TO TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE DEVELOP THOSE POWERFUL PARTNERSHIPS THAT CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN ESTABLISHING THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL? THANK YOU. BOARD MEMBER. AND. YES, SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, LOOKING ACROSS OUR DIFFERENT PLATFORMS, OUR SOCIAL NETWORKS WITH FOLLOWERS. I'M CURIOUS THOUGH, AND I DON'T THINK I HEARD YOU SPEAK TO ENGAGEMENT WITH SOME OF OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS. I KNOW WE HAVE A PLETHORA OF THEM. I KNOW THERE'S ENGAGED PC, PG, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT WE HAVE INSIDE THIS WEEK. THEY'RE PROBABLY MORE THAT I'M MISSING WITH DIFFERENT AUDIENCES. HOW ARE YOU ALL TRACKING ENGAGEMENT AND USE OF THOSE NEWSLETTERS? ARE YOU TRACKING CLICKS OPENS AND WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO YES, THE THE WEB TEAM TRACKS OPEN RATES FOR THOSE NEWSLETTERS. AND WE DO WE HAVE THE INSIDE PGC BLOG, WHICH IS ACCESSIBLE FROM THE HOME PAGE. WE ALSO HAVE A SEPARATE NEWSROOM WHERE WE HOUSE ALL OF OUR NEWS RELEASES. ANOTHER, ANOTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WE DIDN'T MENTION BECAUSE IT IS SOCIAL MEDIA IS YOUTUBE. AND I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE WE HOUSE ALL OF OUR MULTIMEDIA CONTENT, DO LIVE STREAMS, AND WE ALSO HAVE HIGH ENGAGEMENT THERE, BUT LARGELY IT IS LOOKING AT THOSE RATES. MAX. I DON'T KNOW THAT WE ARE TRACKING SORT OF LIKE WHAT PEOPLE ARE CLICKING ON AT THIS TIME, AND IT'S JUST BECAUSE OF A LIMITATION IN OUR CURRENT OUR CURRENT SCHOOL MESSENGER SYSTEM, WHICH WE ARE SHIFTING AWAY FROM. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YEAH. MY WONDERING, OF COURSE, IS BECAUSE I KNOW OBVIOUSLY WE'RE USING DIFFERENT CHANNELS TO TRY TO REACH FOLKS AND GET INFORMATION OUT. AND I'D JUST BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT IS BEING WHAT'S MOST EFFECTIVE, RIGHT? SO HOW ARE WE BEST GETTING INFORMATION OUT TO FOLKS SO THAT WE CAN BEST UTILIZE OUR TIME AND RESOURCES? NEWSLETTERS ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE. ONE, WE'RE REALLY LEANING INTO TEXT MESSAGING. ALSO, WE'RE FINDING THAT TO BE I THINK MAX COULD ATTEST THAT THAT'S THAT'S VERY HELPFUL FOR US. ONE THING WE ADDED WAS THE ABILITY TO TEXT OUR STAFF, OUR 22,000 OF THEM IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY THIS YEAR, BECAUSE WE THERE WERE SOME BARRIERS WHERE WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE PAST. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE MOST CONSIDERATE AND THEY HAVE THE MOST UP TO DATE INFORMATION IN TERMS OF EMERGENCIES AS WELL. 
          SO A LOT OF TIMES WE'VE MOVED A BIT AWAY FROM ROBOCALLS. WE DO RESERVE THOSE FOR EMERGENCIES. 
          WE DO USE THEM, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT'S HIGH LEVEL SYSTEMIC INFORMATION. BUT YEAH, I WOULD SAY EMAIL. AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, CONTENT IS ONLY GOOD. AS MUCH AS WE PUSH IT OUT, PEOPLE AREN'T JUST COMING TO OUR WEBSITE AND BROWSING AROUND. THEY COME FOR VERY SPECIFIC INFORMATION. SO WE FIND WHEN WE PUSH THINGS OUT THROUGH OUR NEWSLETTERS, THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, THROUGH TEXT, WE CAN THEN DRIVE THEM TO THE ACTION. SO I DID HAVE ONE COMMENT. ONE OF THE COMMENTS IS ACTUALLY TWO. SO ONE COMMENT THAT I DID HAVE IS HOW ARE WE LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO HELP US NAVIGATE OUR, OUR WEBSITE? AND THE REASON WHY I ASK IS BECAUSE SOME SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THEY HAVE LIKE, SO THE WEBSITES ARE HUGE PAGES WITH A LOT OF RESOURCES, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, COMB THROUGH THE DIFFERENT LINKS IN ORDER TO FIND WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. THEN I'VE SEEN THAT SOME SCHOOLS OR SOME ORGANIZATIONS MAY HAVE LIKE AI FEATURES THAT KIND OF HELP YOU NAVIGATE TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THOSE THINGS OR I'M JUST NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT ARE WE LEVERAGING, YOU KNOW, ANY TYPE OF AI TO CONNECT THE USER TO THE FASTEST, YOU KNOW, BUCKET OF INFORMATION THEY'RE LOOKING FOR? SO I LIKE THAT QUESTION NUMBER ONE, AND I'LL WAIT AND ASK MY SECOND QUESTION. 
          HI, I'M MAX PUGH. YEAH, WE DO HAVE A AI CHATBOT ON THE HOME PAGE, BOTTOM LEFT, BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER. IT IS HAS LIMITATIONS BECAUSE YOU KNOW, ANYTIME YOU HAVE A CONTENT, IT JUST KIND OF READS EVERYTHING AND CAN STILL GIVE ERRONEOUS INFORMATION. SO WE KEEP THAT VERY TIGHT. WE HAVE LIKE A TUTORING SECTION ON THEIR DATE SECTION, BUT MORE THAN LIKELY WHAT PEOPLE ARE 
          [01:10:03]
DOING. AND I THINK MEGAN MENTIONED THIS IS THAT THEY'RE JUST GOING TO CHATGPT. AND I WENT, I SAT WITH A PRINCIPAL AT ONE OF THE SCHOOLS AND I SAID, CAN WE PRETEND WE'RE A PARENT LOOKING FOR A HOUSE IN A CERTAIN AREA? AND SAID, SHOULD I SEND MY CHILD TO THE SCHOOL? AND THEY'RE OPENING CHATGPT, THEY'RE OPENING UP GEMINI, THEY'RE OPENING UP WHATEVER THEY'RE USING. GOOGLE IS GIVING YOU AI INFORMATION. AND IT SAID YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER THESE OTHER SCHOOLS INSTEAD, BECAUSE THAT SCHOOL WEBSITE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH ON IT OF ACADEMICS OR ANYTHING. AND ALL I CAN SEE IS WHAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED PUBLICLY ON WEBSITES. 
          SO IF WE ARE GOING TO LEVERAGE OUR SEARCH AND OUR AI, WE REALLY NEED TO BOOST UP THE CONTENT THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO SEE ON THESE WEBSITES BECAUSE EVEN, YOU KNOW, IN REAL ESTATE SEARCHES, THEY'RE LEVERAGING AI READING OF OUR WEBSITES AND EVERYTHING WE, WE FEED, IF WE KEEP IT ALL INTERNAL, WE'LL, THOSE PEOPLE WILL GET INFORMATION TO SEND THEM TO A CHARTER SCHOOL OR SOMEWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW. GOTCHA, GOTCHA, GOTCHA, GOTCHA. I WAS YEAH, I DEFINITELY I'M TRACKING WITH THAT, BUT I WAS MORE SO THINKING ABOUT LIKE THE FEATURES THAT WE HAVE. I KNOW YOU SAID YOU HAD THE CHAT BOX, LIKE I'VE SEEN THE PAGES WHERE LIKE YOU COME ON THE PAGE AND THERE'S LIKE AN AI ASSISTANT THAT'S, THAT'S HELPING YOU. LIKE THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO GO. 
          YOU KNOW, IF I WANT TO ENROLL MY STUDENT OR IF I WANT TO DO X, Y, Z, LIKE IT'S TAKING HIM TO THE DIRECT LINK INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH THE DIFFERENT LINKS TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU WANT TO GO MORE. SO LIKE NOT JUST FROM AN INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES LIKE, BUT, BUT LIKE RESOURCES, LIKE HOW DO YOU GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO? I GUESS THAT'S MY, MY QUESTION TOO. YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK INTO MORE OF THAT. I MEAN, THE CHATBOT DOES SAY IF YOU OPEN IT UP, IT SAYS, DO YOU WANT TO ENROLL YOUR CHILD? IT WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE STEPS OF ENROLLMENT. BUT WE CAN, WE CAN EXPLORE MORE ROBUST INTEGRATED FEATURES INTO THE WEBSITE. GOTCHA. AND THEN MY, MY SECOND QUESTION WAS MORE SO ABOUT WHAT WAS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE, LIKE IN THE NARRATIVE, I GUESS, THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF STORIES THAT I THINK ARE UNTOLD ON THE, YOU KNOW, LOCAL LEVEL OR EVEN ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL. SOME OF THEM HAVE NATIONAL MERIT. AND I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAPTURE THOSE STORIES, BECAUSE A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN WHERE IT'S LIKE, HEY, I JUST FOUND OUT A KID FROM Y'S HIGH SCHOOL, YOU KNOW, WAS A NATIONAL BOXING CHAMPION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, OR I JUST FOUND OUT THIS PERSON, YOU KNOW, GOT ACCEPTED TO AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE. AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CAPTURE THAT INFORMATION. SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, A CALL WITH OR EVEN LIKE A, LIKE, I WAS JUST THINKING LIKE A REPORT. IS THERE A REPORT THAT GOES FROM LIKE THE PRINCIPALS UP AND JUST SAY LIKE, HEY, THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING OR THESE EXCITING THINGS HAPPEN IN MY SCHOOL? LIKE, IS THERE LIKE SOME TYPE OF REPOSITORY WHERE INFORMATION IS BEING FED, WHERE WE WOULD KNOW THESE STORIES BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY WINS INSIDE OF OUR 200 PLUS SCHOOLS THAT WE DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT. AND THEN SOMETIMES WHEN I'M AT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT PLACES LIKE, HEY, MAN, YOU KNOW, THIS KID WENT TO, YOU KNOW, FRIENDLY OR THIS KID WENT TO AND THEN I'M LIKE, DANG, THAT HAPPENED. AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW, IT COULD BE MY DISTRICT OR EVEN IN THE COUNTY SOMEWHERE. AND IT'S JUST LIKE, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GET AHOLD OF THAT INFORMATION AND BE ABLE TO LIKE, HELP, YOU KNOW, BOOST OUR NARRATIVE EVEN MORE. YEAH, THANKS FOR ASKING THAT. AND IF YOU KNOW OF SOMETHING, JUST CALL US, CALL ME, CALL ANYBODY BECAUSE WE'RE CONSTANTLY FISHING AND CONSTANTLY LOOKING. 
          BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON PUTTING IN PLACE SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WEEKLY VISITS TO THE SCHOOLS, TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH PRINCIPALS OR WHOEVER THERE KIND OF HAS THEIR PULSE ON WHAT'S GOING ON AND EXPLAIN TO THEM EXACTLY WHAT'S A GOOD STORY, WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE, WHAT MAKES US CARE ABOUT IT IN ORDER THAT IT COULD BE SOMETHING SIMPLE. LIKE YOU SAID, STUDENT HAVING A WIN OR SOMETHING MORE IN-DEPTH, LIKE SOMEBODY HAVING AN INTERESTING WAY OF TEACHING IN A CLASSROOM. SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT THAT. 
          BUT I THINK THESE ARE THE SORTS OF STORIES THAT WE CAN BRING TO THE FOREFRONT AND CAN SET US APART. SO WE'RE EXPLORING THE BEST WAY TO KIND OF GET AHOLD OF THAT INFORMATION, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A LOT GOING ON AND PEOPLE SORT OF DEPLOYED DOING DIFFERENT THINGS. BUT. TO YOUR POINT, WE JUST HAVE TO GET A GRASP ON IT AND JUST TRYING TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES THAT WOULD WORK TO BE ABLE TO TAP US INTO THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. YEAH. OUR COMMUNITY LIAISONS ACTUALLY ARE DOING SCHOOL VISITS, AND I THINK THAT MIGHT BE, I GUESS, A MEDIUM IN ORDER TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE THE WINS AT THE SCHOOLS. AND MAYBE WE CAN TALK OFFLINE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR, YOU KNOW, VISITS TO SCHOOLS, HOW CAN WE CAPTURE 
          [01:15:03]
SOME OF THAT GOOD INFORMATION AND THEN PUSH IT BACK TO, YOU KNOW, THE COMMS TEAM AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THOSE STORIES OUT? THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. THANKS. 
          AND I'LL JUST QUICKLY MENTION TWO WAYS WE DO HAVE TO CAPTURE GOOD INFORMATION. WE YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD DOCTOR WILSON TALK ABOUT USING ZENDESK FOR THE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE. WELL, WE USE ZENDESK AS WELL TO ACCEPT COMMUNICATIONS REQUESTS AND TO MANAGE THOSE. AND SO THE SCHOOLS DO OFTEN SUBMIT THEIR GOOD NEWS THROUGH THAT CHANNEL. AND WE DETERMINE HOW TO DEPLOY THE INFORMATION. SO THAT MIGHT BE SENDING A VIDEOGRAPHER OR PHOTOGRAPHER, OR IT MAY JUST BE ASKING THEM TO SHARE PHOTOS WITH US FROM THE EVENT, AND THEN WE SHARE THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR BLOG OR MEDIA PITCHES OR ALL OF THE ABOVE. SO WE DO. SO SCHOOLS HAVE THAT. 
          ADDITIONALLY, WE DO HAVE A PLACE ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE SCHOOLS CAN SHARE GOOD NEWS AND DIRECTLY UPLOAD THEIR PHOTOS. WE HAVE A UGC USER GENERATED CONTENT APP THAT WE THAT WE HAVE A PLUGIN FOR OUR WEBSITE. AND SO ALL OF THAT INFORMATION JUST FLOWS INTO THE PAGE, YOU KNOW, ONCE IT'S APPROVED. SO THOSE ARE TWO WAYS WE CAN CAPTURE INFORMATION. THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US FOR TONIGHT'S WORK SESSION. TO OUR ONLINE VIEWERS. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. THERE BE NO MORE DISCUSSION. THE TIME IS NOW. 705 IN THE APRIL 16TH, 2026, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.