Town and Gown Committee

TOWN AND GOWN COMMITTEE MEETING 12:00pm TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 8, 2022 HAMPTON COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES I. Call to Order Chairman McKenna welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. II. Roll Call Chairman McKenna asked the Clerk to call the roll: Members Present: Ann Bane, Mary Fugere, Robin McCormick, Bob McKenna, Raymond Tripp, Donnie Tuck, Carolene Goodwyn-Harris Guests: Jennifer Oliver and Sharon Dixon (Hampton City Schools), Joseph Walters and James Parker (Hampton University), Angela Haywood (Bryant and Stratton) Staff Present: Annette Oakley III. Approve September 13, 2022 Meeting Minutes Chairman McKenna stated the draft minutes from the September 13, 2022 meeting were distributed for review, and if there were no changes, called for a motion to approve. (Note: The October meeting was cancelled). ACTION: Raymond Tripp made the motion to accept the minutes as written. Ann Bane seconded the motion. All in favor, minutes were approved. IV. Presentations:  Chairman McKenna introduced and welcomed Academies of Hampton Business Partner Integration Administrator, Jennifer Oliver and Sharon Dixon of Hampton City Schools. Ms. Oliver gave a presentation on The Academies of Hampton, ‘Starting with the End in Mind’ (copy on file). Ms. Oliver presented and highlighted some of the following key points:  Why change?  Hampton City Schools Transformation  Key Academy Indicators  Three Main Outcomes  Portrait of Hampton Graduate  Business Partner Integration  Project Based Learning  The Information Model  Governing Structure  Academy Themes/Quadrants  Community Exploration and Service Learning 1   Upcoming Event – Short Film Project “Bringing Hollywood to Hampton”  The Story Behind the Numbers  On-Time Graduation  Dropout Rate  Dual Enrollment  Connecting the Dots Ms. Oliver provided a question and answer opportunity: Q. Robin mentioned a recent State report regarding teachers leaving the profession verses joining the profession. She inquired if this model of education in Hampton, that is exciting students, has also excited the faculty, and therefore are they seeing more retention? A. Ms. Oliver stated Robin Ruth would be able to speak on retention, but in terms of engagement, she finds that the teachers are excited about these opportunities. They are finding that, after the pandemic, students want hands-on opportunities and teachers are working more with teams, so they are engaged and feeling more connected. She stated there is an energy and excitement in the schools. Ann Bane added that in the report there are two issues; retention (people are leaving in larger numbers), but more concerning is fewer are entering the profession. The Academies of Hampton help create connections early on for young people and gives them strategies to help in challenging times. Chairman McKenna thanked Ms. Oliver for her presentation and stated he feels every school system in Hampton Roads should adopt the HCS model.  Chairman McKenna introduced and welcomed Hampton University (HU) Director of Athletic Development, Joseph Walters and University Relations, James Parker. Mr. Parker stated there are exciting things happening at HU with the new President and he gave a brief update on the following:  HU top priority: To deliver #1 student experience in America.  A survey was taken and the number one priority on campus is to improve the digital infrastructure – President approved a $4million budget to upgrade.  Living facilities was also a survey topic – They are improving living conditions and doing building upgrades.  Needed more people to expand the faculty – They have hired fifty new professors.  Held an off-site retreat that included idea sharing - They are developing a strategic plan. Mr. Walters stated HU Athletics Department would love to have the Town & Gown Committee join them at various sporting events. He gave a brief update, highlighting the following:  HU wants a community-first approach; to have collaborative efforts.  HU is working with Dominque DeBose to develop ‘Hampton Nation’, to have a group of fans and alumni groups support sports financially. This campaign would help with providing up-to-date facilities, state-of-the-art facilities, necessary food and strength training, etc. They want to incentivize businesses and others to be involved. For example, they want 2  Mellen Street to turn ‘blue’ and celebrate post-games in the Phoebus area. They are looking for sponsorships and want to support local businesses in the 757 area -- more information to follow. A question and answer opportunity was provided: Q. Mary inquired what percentage of students live on campus? A. Mr. Parker stated about 85%. Q. Mary inquired if that will remain the same? A. Mr. Parker stated with Covid, the number dropped, but we should see a higher percentage as we get back to normal. A. Mary mentioned she monitors the student shuttle numbers and seems like it is going well. Q. Mr. Parker responded from their feedback, it is working very well, although students would like the shuttle to run more on the weekends. Mr. Walters added that students wished the shuttle ran longer into the night and throughout the week. Mayor Tuck made an observation, when visiting the campus, that there are many publications and things happening on campus, but feels the community does not always see off-campus. He suggested HU might want to enhance their distribution. He mentioned he checks online for such things as performances and games, and referenced, for example, a dance performance held in September that he would like to have attended, but was not aware. Mayor Tuck stated one of the things college campuses bring to the community are artistic, cultural events that the community would benefit from. He stated this setting is a good place to share information, but all schools would benefit by getting information out to businesses and the community, to create more visibility. He suggested that maybe some of the HU athletes visit local schools, hospitals, events, etc. in their uniforms to form a connection. Mr. Parker agreed and stated they are trying to do a better job of promoting events. He stated his team meets weekly to talk about this type of thing. Mr. Walters stated HU is in a rebuilding phase and they will take this back to HU and encouraged others to share feedback as well. He stated he has an open-door policy and wants to make the HU experience better all around. Mayor Tuck inquired about a recent announcement of four area colleges going to be engaged in local school events and was curious if students will be involved in tutoring? Ann stated yes, they are involved in tutoring; there is planning of resources and conversations are happening. She stated the City of Hampton is strong on support and engagement of neighborhoods, and shared a thought, that neighborhoods invite HU students to their events and vice versa, to engage with each other. Raymond stated, in regards to the programs at HU, he suggested they communicate with Robin in the City’s Marketing Department. Mr. Walters stated they will do so and mentioned he brought tickets to the upcoming football game for committee members, and encouraged all to attend. Chairman McKenna thanked Mr. Walters and Mr. Parker for their presentation. He stated one of the best things the Town and Gown Committee can do is raise the level of awareness and thanked all the presenters for a great job. 3 V. Key Updates Since the September Meeting: Committee Members gave the following key updates:  Mary Fugere (Convention & Visitor Bureau):  CVB is working on the new 2023 Visitor’s Guide if anyone wants a presence in the guide, please reach out to her.  25 Phoebus High School students will attend the VA One Governor’s Tourism Summit with them in Norfolk next week.  Bodacious Bazaar is this weekend at Hampton Roads Convention Center (HRCC).  The first Swim Meet at the Hampton Virginia AquaPlex this weekend.  Jazz Legacy Foundation will be held at the HRCC.  Sailors are in town for the Salty Dog sailing event – they are looking for experiences if anyone has upcoming events to share.  Robin McCormick (Marketing):  Marketing is putting together the City calendar and looking for major events, such as Homecoming games, concerts, etc. Please let her know the dates before Thanksgiving.  Ann Bane (Hampton City Schools):  The data provided with today’s Hampton Academies presentation is great! She encouraged everyone to please take time to read the information.  There was a recent site visit from twenty-two school divisions from around the Commonwealth who came to take deep-dive in what HCS is doing regarding the Academies. Ms. Dixon added there is great work going on with the Academies -- stay tuned. She mentioned there would also be another site visit in March.  Carolene Goodwyn-Harris/Angela Haywood (Bryant & Stratton):  November 16 – Business Lunch and Learn from 12:00-1:30pm. Call the campus if interested in attending.  Hampton Schools – Jump Start will be in January. This is a program where students can try a class for free to see if the college is a good fit.  January semester is coming up and they are enrolling.  Mayor Donnie Tuck (Hampton City Council):  Looking forward to the upcoming Military Recognition Breakfast this Thursday.  Raymond Tripp (Coliseum Central):  Preparing for the holidays with two announcements:  November 19th - Whimsical Winter Wonderland at the Hampton Coliseum from 12:00-5:00pm. This is a free event, and there will be games, photos, balloon artists, face painting, etc.  December 11th – Collaborating with the Hampton Coliseum to bring world-class artist, Cirque Musica “Winter Wonderland”; very excited about this event! The show is at 7:00 p.m. and tickets from $45.00- $129.00. Can get tickets at the Hampton Coliseum box office or Coliseum Central website. 4   Bob McKenna (Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce):  November 17 – Spotlight on The Peninsula at NASA – Free event from 1:00-3:00pm.  December 1– Hampton State of the City at Hampton Roads Convention Center. VI. Next Meeting: December 13, 2022 VII. Adjourn: Chairman McKenna thanked everyone for attending. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 5