SCHOOL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORFOLK
MINUTES
October 10, 2006
Recognition Ceremony
PRESENT: Chair Bishop, Vice Chair Rhodes, Mr. Cook, Mr. Driggers, Dr. McCluney, Dr. Tonelson, and Dr. Wright.
Administrative Staff present were Superintendent Jones, Chief Financial Officer Schmitt, Chief Operations Spencer, Chief Academic Officer Boone, Executive Directors Jones, Lassiter, O’Konek, and Thomas, Jane Pellegrino, Senior Budget Director, and Clerk Rhodes.
The School Board convened the recognition ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Campostella Elementary School, located at 1106 Campostella Road. Mr. Bishop welcomed those assembled and turned the meeting over to Clerk Rhodes for reading the commendations.
1.National Merit Scholarship semifinalist Tracey Huffman , Granby High School Senior, was commended by the School Board for being named a 2007 National Merit Semifinalist through the National Merit Scholarship program. Tracey is one of 16,000 students nationwide who competed against more than 1.4 million juniors in nearly 21,000 high schools by taking the 2005 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. One of the goals of this program is to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.
Tracey will have the opportunity to continue in the competition to receive one of 8,200 Merit Scholarship® awards worth a total of $33 million that will be offered in the spring.
2. Taylor Hoag, Matthew Almodovar, and Troy Wickline were commended for being selected by the American Automobile Association (AAA) of Tidewater Virginia during the 2005-06 school year as Hall of Fame winners.
3. Dealton Cotton, Maury High School counselor and football coach was commended for his positive influence on the youth of Norfolk and contributions made to several youth programs. Dealton was selected to represent Virginia at the NFL Youth Football Summit in Canton, Ohio this past summer. The three-day educational conference was held for leaders and coaches in youth and high school football and took place during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction week.
4. In June of 2004, Dr. Harold-Lans published the book “Stop Bullying: An ABC Guide for Children and the Adults Who Interact with Them” to bring awareness to the issue of school bullying. She has recently published a workbook entitled, “Stop Bullying: An ABC Guide for Children and the Adults Who Interact With Them: The Workbook for Middle School Students” as a companion piece to the original book. The workbook is geared toward middle school students and offers practical suggestions for teachers to incorporate into their lesson plans. Elementary and middle school students can use the workbook to foster problem-solving skills. Dr. Harold-Lans was commended for her accomplishment.
5. As the Music Coordinator for NPS, Beth Hazelette is responsible for providing creative ways to instruct and inspire Norfolk’s students as they learn about music. Beth found a new way to share her in-depth knowledge of music education by penning a chapter in a recently published book entitled, “Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom...A Guide to Leadership, Teacher Education and Reform” developed by the Music Educator’s National Conference. Beth’s chapter, “Surviving the First Year of Teaching” describes the strategies used to support new music teachers as they deal with the challenges associated with first year teaching. This book is currently being used as a textbook in colleges in many urban areas. The School Board members commended her for her achievement.
6. The motion was made and approved to name October 18, 2006, as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day here in Norfolk. Mr. John Hazelette, Senior Director of Transportation was presented with the resolution.
School Board of the City of Norfolk
RESOLUTION
Whereas school bus transportation is eight times safer than traveling in a passenger vehicle and is the safest form of ground transportation available;
Whereas school buses meet higher construction, equipment, and inspection standards than any other vehicle, and school bus drivers meet higher qualification, training, and testing standards than any other drivers;
Whereas School Bus Safety Week, which is celebrated in more than 40 States and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was created to remind all students of the best ways to get on and off the bus in an effort to enhance the safety of the Nation's children;
Whereas School Bus Safety Week, which dates back to 1966, also recognizes the hard work and dedication of school transportation personnel, especially the many school bus drivers who ensure a safe journey each and every day; and
Whereas School Bus Safety Week, celebrated the third week in October, promotes awareness through local and State poster and speech contests, lessons utilizing school bus safety community awareness kits, and other activities built around themes that raise awareness of school bus safety issues; and
Whereas Norfolk Public Schools buses will travel in excess of 3.5 million miles this year— the equivalent of traveling from the earth to the moon and back over four and a half times; and
Whereas Norfolk Public Schools bus drivers hold the safe transportation of our students as their highest priority;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the School Board of the City of Norfolk supports the goals and ideals of School Bus Safety Week, and proclaims Wednesday, October 18, 2006, as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Norfolk,
And be it further resolved that the Clerk of the School Board spread the text of this resolution across the minutes of this meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
Minutes approved: October 18, 2006