Loudoun County School Board hears partnership update; no vote taken

The Loudoun County School Board received an informational work session presentation on the state of partnerships across Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) on Aug. 11, with no motion or vote taken. The board recessed for dinner immediately afterward, with the stakeholder survey results presentation held until members reconvened at 6:30. ^{0:38:05 1:13:33}

Renée Dawson (Director of Family and Community Engagement) and Mike Grubbs (Director of Career, Technical, and Adult Education) presented jointly, describing partnerships as spread across schools and departments rather than owned by one office. Dawson said partnerships enrich learning, reduce barriers by coordinating health, safety and family access supports, and expand capacity by bringing schools, families and community organizations together. ^{0:38:05 0:39:44}

Dawson said LCPS has more than 2,300 registered business partners, including more than 900 added through career, technical and adult education. Grubbs cited more than 315 Workforce Summit participants and more than 150 roundtable participants, and said the division documented more than 1,000 work-based learning students this past year, which he said amounted to more than $1 million in paid stipends. Other figures included 100-plus partners at the Mental Health and Wellness Conference and 150-plus at the Environmental Roundtable and Environmental Day. ^{0:45:03 0:46:19 0:47:06}

Examples described included Job for a Day, which connected roughly 600 students with more than 70 business and organizational partners; the LCPS Green Team, with 60 schools and 7,000 students engaged; and Together in Remembrance, involving 34 schools and 3,200 first-grade students. Dawson also cited 25 Purple Star schools and 64 schools receiving essential supports through the Loudoun Education Foundation. ^{0:52:31 0:56:34}

Sumera Rashid (Board member, Little River District) asked whether hands-on research partnerships modeled on Janelia and Virginia Tech would expand into other fields, and whether metrics or feedback loops existed to measure success. Dawson said no specific plans were in place but that those models were being treated as exemplars, and called division-wide impact measurement an area of opportunity, pointing to a 2024-25 partnership collaborative that defined a common definition of partnership. Grubbs described tracking partners along a work-based learning continuum from Job for a Day to summer hiring to year-long internships. ^{1:03:16 1:04:08 1:05:25}

Lauren Shernoff (Board member, Leesburg District) said the shift toward impact was encouraging and highlighted partners connecting with one another, citing the interfaith luncheon. Ross Svenson (Board member, Broad Run District) asked for a snapshot of partnership planning for the View Transition Center; Dawson described identifying additional people for planning roundtables, and Grubbs said the center is slated to present updates at the September CTAC meeting. Amy Riccardi (Board member, Sterling District) raised staffing and budget support for the work. ^{1:06:36 1:07:44 1:08:52 1:10:04 1:12:29}