Notes from the Feb. 27th LCS Agenda Review Meeting

On February 27^th, the Leon County School Board held their bi-weekly agenda review meeting.

The Board discussed 3 additional grants and how the funding would impact schools. The Board wants to use the new funds to expand on current programs and to increase security at afterschool programs. The funds will be used district wide; however, additional funds may be provided to schools with a poverty rate of 75% or more.

The Board also discussed a federal grant that will assist struggling students. April Knight, Director of Title I Programs, stated “We know that one of the greatest things that impacts a student’s success is parent and family engagement.” She also stated that family and parent engagement is a major component of the grant. She continued, “The overarching goal is to make sure we have a space for parents in terms of being able to provide information to them.”

Chairman Alva Smith recommend staff to change the use of the word “diet” in the Human and Development curriculum to “nutrition.” She stated, “Being a parent of girls who are super aware of the word diet, it can sometimes have a connotation to it.”

In addition, the board instructed staff to change the title “Let’s Talk About Sex” to “Let’s Talk.” Board member Marcus Nicolas noted that even though he understood the curriculum was about communication, the title was too “aggressive.”

The Board decided for their upcoming annual retreat, that each member would be limited to 15 minutes for each of their pillars to allow more time for other important topics.