February 2024 Newsletter

During the month of February, the school division will be celebrating School Board Appreciation Month. Almost 850 elected and appointed school board members throughout Virginia are being recognized by schools and communities for their service and dedication to public education. The theme of this year’s celebration, “The Heart of Education: Our School Board,” reflects the leadership of local school board members as they serve their divisions and advocate for public education on behalf of all students. I would like to personally thank members of the School Board of the City of Norfolk for their tireless commitment to our students and staff. I would also like to extend a sincere thank you to NPS’ School Board Clerk, Ms. Karen Tanner, for her dedication to Norfolk Public Schools. School board clerks are the heartbeat of the boardroom, and so we celebrate Ms. Tanner during School Board Clerk Appreciation Week, which is recognized from February 18th through February 22nd.

In addition to these very important recognitions, this time of year also brings about the annual budget proposal for the next school year. You can find my proposed operating budget and my message to the School Board on the school division’s website. I encourage you to review my budget recommendations to the School Board for potential implementation during the 2024-2025 school year.

On another note, second quarter report cards have been disseminated, and we now find ourselves in the home stretch toward completing the school year with Standards of Learning (SOL) testing, grade promotions, and high school graduations. It is critical that we keep our scholars on track toward their grade-level goals. Norfolk Public Schools provides a plethora of educational supports for students, including FREE homework help and tutoring through FEV Tutor. Students may schedule regular appointments by sending an email to FEV Tutor, or by accessing on-demand homework help. Moreover, please do not underestimate the importance of daily school attendance and its value to each student’s success. As we like to say within Norfolk Public Schools, “You miss school, you miss out!” Our School-to-School Attendance Challenge continues to demonstrate to our students, staff, and community just how important and fun it is to attend school on time, every day!

Students, teachers, and special guests celebrated the dedication of Ocean View Elementary’s micro wind turbine on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Thanks to a partnership between the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation and the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, Ocean View Elementary received a 30-foot-tall micro wind turbine, solar panels, and two 12-volt energy storage batteries. An online data display shows the installation’s energy output and a hands-on curriculum from NEED that allows students to learn about wind in the classroom. Additionally, Ocean View Elementary teachers received training on the curriculum and the use of the wind turbine data to incorporate into lessons for students.

CarolAnn Curran, Autism Teacher and Maritime Science Teacher at Ocean View Elementary School, said the wind turbine, nicknamed SUSIE4, is an “energy island,” combining solar panels with wind turbine technology to store off-grid energy that produces lighting for safety and security, and can power closed-circuit surveillance, and provide Wi-Fi for telecommunications.

“When we heard about the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation’s Wind for Students Program, we immediately knew that this grant opportunity would not only further OVES’s mission to engage our students in the natural world and enable them to participate in another conservation adventure, but also empower and inspire them to continue to "Save the Bay the OV Way!" Curran noted.

Students from the Maritime Rangers club are already working with the wind turbine to understand more about energy production and how their school’s proximity to the Chesapeake Bay allows their wind turbine to be one of the top-producing turbines of its kind in the country!

Norfolk Public Schools celebrates true Rock Stars – our teachers! The Rock Star Teacher Award recognizes those who have reached 95 percent student completion on their STAR assessments or teachers who have perfect attendance and/or show creativity and accountability toward attendance goals. Congratulations, Rock Stars! Visit the full gallery and return to www.npsk12.com/images throughout the year for pictures from school division events. Photos are free and available for download – perfect for framing!

Granby High School’s Cupola Magazine has been recognized as a REALM First Class magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for its 2023 publication. The REALM program recognizes excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers.

Schools in 46 states and five countries, including middle school, high school, and higher education, nominated 375 student magazines. The Cupola has been published since 1962, and in that time, has published the poetry, prose, drama, and artwork of more than 2,000 students, along with interviews of former Virginia Poet Laureates Luisa Igloria and Tim Seibles, and notable authors such as Janet Peery, Nathan Richardson, Kindra McDonald, and Jeff Hecker, among others.

Congratulations to the students of Granby High School on this exciting award!

Thanks to a partnership with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), we may have future medical professionals from the Compass Academy at Ruffner! Since the fall of 2023, the school has offered its fifth-grade students a series of biweekly after-school seminars on blood pressure, the role of the human heart in maintaining good health, and the proper methods to use in taking and recording blood pressure over time. Initiated by Dr. M. Gemeda, Vice President of the EVMS Department of Diversity and Inclusion, and Ms. Tracy Flemings, Principal of, the program is facilitated by a combination of current medical students and new doctors working through their residencies here in Norfolk. The program also features retired physician Dr. Thomas Scott as an advocate, consultant, and mentor for the medical students facilitating the program.

Every two weeks, the team from EVMS works with Compass Academy students using visual media, small group instruction, written activities, models of the human heart, hands-on experimentation, and practical activities using blood pressure cuffs. Each term of the program is designed to last five sessions with a concluding ceremony for students and their families. Upon completion, students may sign out blood pressure cuffs to take home and record blood pressure for their friends and families.

Although the last fall session of the fifth-grade program was held in late January, students in sixth to eighth grades will have the opportunity to participate in the TeachBP program for students this spring, a similar program that strives to instruct students about hypertension and educate students about heart health.

Christy Desir was named one of five Virginia nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars program in Career and Technical Education!

Superintendent Dr. Sharon I. Byrdsong presented her Proposed Operating Budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to the School Board in a meeting held Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

The proposal contains four funds: the operating budget, capital improvement projects, the school nutrition program, and grants and other special programs. The largest portion of the expenditure plan is the proposed $447.1 million operating budget which underwrites the day-to-day operations of the school division.

The operating budget proposal was developed on the foundation of five priorities: employee compensation, employee recruitment and retention, right-sizing the school division, safety, security, and building maintenance, and instructional and social-emotional learning resources for students.

A few highlights include:

• Salary increases averaging: 8.04 percent for teachers; 8.34 percent for classified staff; and 5.94 percent for administrators;
• An increase in starting pay for teachers from $53,000 to $57,500;
• A $3,000 retention bonus for full-time, contracted employees and other eligible staff who renew and complete their employment contracts for the 2024-2025 school year;
• Establishment of Equity and Excellence Learning Centers in four schools: Jacox Elementary, P.B. Young Elementary, the Ruffner (3-8) School, and Booker T. Washington High School; these centers will be designed to provide wraparound services, such as mental health services, social-emotional learning supports, access to medical resources, and family engagement offerings;
• Funds to support the academic and social-emotional learning needs of our students with disabilities;
• Funds to establish a welcome center for English Learners and their families at the Rosemont facility along with the expansion of translation services and other contracted services;
• The return of two buildings to the City of Norfolk as the first step towards right-sizing the school division; and
• Additional staff to help address the mental health and social-emotional needs of students.

The $156.7 million capital improvement budget proposal contains funding to: begin the replacement of Maury High School; turf conversion projects to the athletic fields at three high schools - Booker T. Washington, Lake Taylor, and Norview; school bus replacements; and a number of window, door, and roof replacement projects.

The School Board will be deliberating on Superintendent Byrdsong’s recommendations in the coming weeks. The statutory deadline for submitting the School Board’s approved proposal to Norfolk City Council is April 1, 2024. City Council will adopt a municipal budget, which includes an operating budget for Norfolk Public Schools in May 2024. In the meantime, to learn what else is included in the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget visit the Budget at a Glance webpage, here: https://www.npsk12.com/Page/22000.

Ally is a tool integrated into the Norfolk Public Schools’ website that focuses on making our digital content more accessible, provides alternative formats that visitors can select, including, electronic braille, audio, and document translation, among others.

Thank you, School Board of the City of Norfolk, for everything you do!

Norfolk and Portsmouth Public Schools Parent Resource Centers (PRC) are partnering for a Winter Workshop series encouraging productive conversations and developing questions to discuss the postsecondary transition from preschool to grade 12. The next two sessions in this series are on February 20th and March 19th. To attend, please register here.

Critical Decision Points for Families of Children with Disabilities

Each month, the PRC will explain common special education terms and resources. This month's The Critical Decision Points for Families of Children with Disabilities (PDF) guide was developed to assist families of children with disabilities with understanding the keys to their children's academic success, as well as decisions that they will have to make throughout their children's careers in public education. Information is provided that will assist parents with understanding not only what decisions will need to be made, but also when those decisions need to start being considered.

For further information, please see the Understanding Your Rights PDF. Both documents also may be obtained from the Virginia Department of Education's website.

How do I contact the Parent Resource Center?

Ms. Kamil Donawa, PRC Educator
Phone: 757-274-5997 (cell)
757-825-4674 X 3089 (office)
Email: parentresourcecenter@nps.k12.va.us

In December, The Association of Educational Office Professionals of Norfolk (AEOPN) stuffed 200 Salvation Army Stockings for local children. Stockings were dropped off at the Kroc Community Center for distribution.