Staff Advisory Minutes
Division Updates:
Central Elementary:
Reps: Amy Conner and Maria Graff
Good news:
Shout out to the librarians who do a great job of including SPED students during their encore time.
Thank you for this recognition - they are extraordinary!
Thank you for making the work day a work from home day as well as giving parents and staff adequate notice regarding closings.
You’re welcome!
Thank you for letting us leave a bit early on Friday before break.
You’re welcome and thank you for your amazing work with our students and families!
PTO took such good care of us the week before Christmas.
That’s great to hear - we have wonderful parent support!
Staff Questions/updates:
There is an option for not using the app on the phone to get into the building? I don’t think we were told that. Several people do not want to download the app. It also means everytime we go to the office, we have to remember our phone. What is the purpose of this new system and what is the cost?
Those who are opposed to using the new SmartKey app are able to be issued a physical fob.
The purpose of the new system is to streamline the door security process across the division. It is currently splintered, different at each school, and very inefficient. Fobs must be individually programmed at each school and individually de-programmed if a change is needed. The fobs are frequently lost and shared among individuals. There is a cost to replace them and the facilities are less secure because at any given time we are not ultimately sure who does/doesn’t have their fob, who may have picked up a lost fob, etc.
The new system eliminates the need for physical replacement and allows granular security access to be given/removed with the touch of a button from one central command center. Phones are less likely to be lost or shared, so our facilities are ultimately more safe and the process more efficient.
We have been as responsive to staff needs as we can possibly be. We are implementing an improved system that will provide a more streamlined and efficient process and will enhance the safety of each facility - and an alternative solution is being provided to those who need it.
The cost of the new system is $54,794 and is funded entirely by a federal security grant.
Sped Aides DO NOT make enough money.
Thank you for this feedback and support for our IA’s. We have increased our Instructional Assistant pay by an average 23% over the past three years and we will continue to advocate for this critical group of associates.
Is it possible to rethink sick time? Could we do hours versus days? Often people take 1/ day when, in actuality, they only need to come in 1 hour late or leave an hour early. It might change the way we pay subs, it might also save on subs as 1 hour might be able to be covered by a staff member rather than a ½ day sub.
It is possible in that we have the capability to accomplish the accounting in that way. We will investigate the overall pros/cons of moving in that direction and I will report back our analysis through this committee. I have confirmed that while the Frontline system doesn’t allow for time to be taken in hourly increments, the school does and accrues the hours as they accumulate to half/whole days.
Could we have some people from the school board office as well as school board members come and observe in the clinic? It is a high needs/busy place and really needs two nurses!
I will look for an opportunity to visit the clinic, though I am already convinced of the need and have included the extra position in our past two budget cycle considerations with the school board and intend to this year as well.
How are we making up the snow days and could we have an explanation as to how we arrive at the number of days we are in school. Are we days or hours?
All school divisions must certify that they either go 180 days or 990 hours. If your school calendar is any less than 180 days, you are automatically living by the 990 minimum requirement. We are able to count 6.25 hours of instructional time for each full day of school, and our current calendar is 174 days (keep in mind those aren’t all full days and we need to “back out” any missed days when we calculate the time).
Even with one of the shortest calendars in Virginia, we still build in many more hours than the minimum 990 required. This is where the concept of “bank” time originates. We don’t build extra, unnecessary time into our calendar that can then be “lopped off” if we don’t miss snow days. We build the calendar we need, and it happens to have more hours than are required so if we miss snow days we aren’t necessarily compelled to make them up - because we aren’t yet in danger of going below the 990 hours.
Our conversations about making up time, if we ever need to have them this year, will hopefully not be in response to dipping below the 990, but rather focused on ensuring our teachers have the time they need to accomplish with students the learning they need this year.
We are not currently at the point where we need to make up days, and I am not a fan of the typical “check-the-box” responses to making up time (adding minutes onto the day, Saturday school, etc.) Any efforts to make up lost time should actually support teaching and learning and provide as close to what was lost as possible. Three minutes added to each afternoon doesn’t do that, and I will probably never advocate for something like that.
Can we please have an update on the disappearing deductible?
The new system has been developed by Sentara and will be distributed to all employees soon (anticipated within the next week or so). It will be retroactive to include any allowable activities as early as July 1, 2024. The new program is almost identical to the old one, so transition should be simple for our employees.
Once communication has gone out to our staff, I will work with principals to develop opportunities to meet with each faculty/staff to explain the program in person, if desired.
Carysbrook Elementary:
Reps: Michelle Ryman and Jennifer Flood
Good news:
Staff Questions/updates:
IA’s are confused as to why they must complete timesheets when they have a contract.
All non-exempt employees are required to complete a timesheet. This has been required by School Board Policy GAA since 2014. Federal law (Fair Labor Standards Act) mandates that employers account for and maintain records documenting time worked for non-exempt employees.
The purpose of this requirement is to ensure non-exempt employees do not work more than 40 hours per week, or are paid the required overtime if they do (overtime must be pre-approved, per school board policy).
Currently we use paper timesheets, and there is too much opportunity for human error. Timesheets get misplaced, don’t get submitted or forwarded in a timely manner or, in some cases, may not be completed at all. To solve this we are moving to a digital process that will eliminate most of this error and ensure timely reporting. Most importantly, payroll will have the information needed to ensure people are paid promptly for work required to be recorded via timesheet.
Addressing the phones vs fobs. If you speak to any programmer, they will tell you that once something is downloaded others can have access to personal information that will be on your phone (pictures, bank acct. info, texts, etc.) Some personnel in technology have a work phone, so they aren't concerned with having their personal information "out there". Is it possible that we have a strip or code of some sort put on the back of our school ID instead of downloaded on our phones? Other school systems do this and it seems to work well. I am assuming we are too far into this to go back now - but, there are many, many people who are very uncomfortable with this change. We weren't asked as a staff/county - it was just told to us what was happening. If a poll were to be taken, I think there would be many who would be opposed.
The system we are initiating is safer and more efficient. Those desiring to stick with what they have are able to, while the majority move to the new system.
It seems to take quite a while for minutes for previous months to be posted. Is there any way that this process could be more streamlined?
When I arrived in Fluvanna, SAC minutes consisted of very brief notes taken during the meeting. I have implemented a website where comprehensive responses to every submitted question/comment, thoroughly researched and documented, can be posted publicly for future reference. Because many responses require additional investigation and involvement from other staff members, it takes considerably longer to do. How long this takes depends on the number of questions submitted and the degree to which research is required to develop a thoughtful and accurate answer that can be posted publicly.
The members of the SAC agreed that the new system is more beneficial and worth the wait each month. I am open to your feedback and encourage you to share it with your SAC rep - or me, directly. Ultimately these minutes are meant to support our staff and I want them to reflect what you collectively will find helpful.
What is the reason behind offering ice cream, snacks, and healthy “soda” daily at lunch? It caused a lot of tears, confusion, and wasted time with students. I do not feel that students need ice cream and unhealthy snacks offered to them daily. What about the families who cannot afford these for their children? The cafeteria used to offer cookies on Fridays with lunch, and that seemed to work well. Why this disruptive change?
Why are we having breakfast to go when we have an awesome cafeteria with tables and custodial help to clean up? Students use this time to check in with the school counselors and get their morning started off right, plus nothing spills in the classroom.
Both of these additions are meant to be responsive to requests from parents and students for more variety and to generate revenue to support our school cafeterias. I will bring this up in our next meeting with principals to explore what will work best for our schools.
FMS:
Reps: Chris Gresham and Tonya Lloyd
Good news:
A shout-out to share is our PTO and administration did a wonderful job showering us with love during the December staff appreciation week.
Great feedback and we are grateful for our PTO folks!
Sincerely thank you for the 2 hour delay today - that was a game changer!!
I am glad it was supportive - those decisions are made in the interest of safety. That morning, specifically, was intended to provide our drivers with as much daylight as possible.
Staff Questions/updates:
Is it possible for there to be a resource available countywide that allows us to see the scheduled field trips for each grade level so there are no repeats? For example, 5th grade went to the Science Museum this year and so did the 6th grade. 6th grade was unaware that 5th grade was going to the Science Museum before planning the trip, so now we will have to choose a new trip in 6th grade next year. It is much easier if each grade level could have a dedicated trip each year. It is my understanding that Pamplin Park used to be a 6th grade trip, but was then taken over by 4th grade. Communication is key and it's hard to know what other grade levels are doing.
Our leadership team will work to develop a consistent process to identify and communicate field trips occurring at each grade level; both within an individual school, as well as vertically across the division.
The information shared and gathered at the "block parties" should be followed up with a short survey to staff to have legitimate data to take to the school board folks (especially when the matter involves so much money).
Great feedback! I will look into doing this. Please encourage colleagues to respond as most surveys get significantly less than half participation which can be difficult to inspire confidence that the data reflects the staff collective view.
Please know that this is not a complaint in any way. I would just like for this to be considered. I would like to share that even though I know that the weather is beyond our control and I am probably in the minority here, I would have really liked to have the workday in January despite the snow days. Hear me out on this:
We have said that there are no more "work from home days" so this announcement is ambiguous. Yes, some of us could do grades and some things for the new year but many people left grading information on their desks. The lack of a work day took away collaboration, meeting, and cleaning time that we planned on when we left in December.
Again, this is not a complaint.
Thank you for the feedback and I don’t take it as a complaint at all - it’s constructive and helpful feedback. We absolutely did lose much of what an in-person, on-campus workday provides (we always do when we work from home). Because we added 5 extra days of lost instructional time to the two week break, the benefit of getting students back in school outweighed the negative of losing the in-person work day experiences.
That said, I know that time is important to our staff and I appreciate the flexibility you are employing on behalf of students!
FCHS:
Reps: Haden Parrish, Shannon Taylor, and Luke Divine
Good news:
High School sports awards, 1 Act Play
Great achievements and high honors! We are proud!
Our AP Environmental course has grown from 20 to 120 within 4 semesters/years (semester long course) and we also offer BRVGS virtual AP Environmental to multiple counties. Our pass rates exceed state and global averages.
Well done! Exceptional work!
Staff Questions/updates:
Concern with the new door entry system. Specifically the lag between the fobs and smartphone access from Mr. Gifford's email "If you are unable to use your smartphone, we will provide a new physical fob. However, the initial focus of the implementation will be on getting the smart credentials up and working for the majority of staff and then providing physical fobs to the minority of staff. As a result, there will probably be a time where you will have to get into the building with a physical key or by ringing the front or back doorbell to gain entry." Some staff members arrive before the office staff. How would a staff member gain entry? This is not well planned. New fobs should be issued when the old ones are obsolete. How will staff members use the elevators while waiting for the new fobs?
Why were staff not told of the option to have a key fob instead of being required to use their personal cell phones? Legally, if cell phone use is required for a job, the employer has to offset the cost of that phone use for the employee. Also, those of us requesting fobs have been told that we may not be able to enter the building during the changeover process. Some of us arrive to work prior to the front office being manned. This will create an issue with us being able to start work. Those of us who have responded that we will not be using our phones have been placed on a fob list, but shouldn't those fobs be distributed before locking out employees?
I will respond to the previous two comments together: There is a limited number of staff members who can be deployed to take care of all of this at one time. Our division is taking great strides to be proactive and progressive with safety and security measures - the new key entry system, door lock replacements and the wearable crisis alert buttons, most recently. The intent will be to make it all as seamless as possible. I will work with our principals to develop any needed creative solutions to ensure people have access to the building if there is a lag in time.
It was not transparent that technology sent out an email insinuating that we were required to download an app on our phone to get into the building and was against the law. The email should have said there was an alternative. This is the second failure in this regard in less than a year due to the 2 factor authentication last spring.
To be clear, there really wasn’t an alternative until we had staff members express the need for one - at which time we responded and developed one. I applaud our technology team for consistently demonstrating responsive support to our employees. This new system and the 2-factor authentication system are both proactive initiatives that provide increased safety and sustainability for our employees and school division.
I live in Culpeper County. In December, Culpeper is initiating a program that they call "the YONDR pouch initiative. This program will require students to store their cell phone in a YONDR pouch, which is designed to hold cell phones and auxiliary items, including smartwatches, earbuds, and Bluetooth-connected devices. Upon entering the school building, students must unlock their YONDR pouch, place their phone (in airplane mode) and auxiliary items (e.g., smart watches, earbuds) inside, and lock the pouch before entering the cell phone-free zone. First-block teachers will conduct a locked pouch check at the start of class. At the end of the day, unlocking stations will be strategically located near student exits. Students will unlock their pouches, remove their devices, and relock the pouches. There is much more detail in regards to special circumstances and other questions, which I would be happy to provide. My question is why can't we implement this kind of program here in Fluvanna?
We can implement this type of program, and if it is determined to be the best approach for us - we will work to do so. One concern with these solutions is that disarming devices are currently being marketed to students that allow them to disable the magnetized locks - which creates yet one more thing for classroom teachers to have to supervise and monitor.
Again, there may be lockable “pouch” solutions that address this problem and create a perfect complement to our efforts to regulate cell phone use in schools. Our first order of business, while we wait for the General Assembly to resolve its disposition toward the multiple bills related to this issue, is to implement the rule we have currently with fidelity. This will make the expansion to potentially include other areas of the building much easier to implement.