School officials gave the board a detailed presentation on alternative education programming at Lugo McGinnis Academy (LMA) and the districts night-school program, emphasizing smaller class sizes, individualized supports, community partnerships, and recent career and enrichment activities.

Dr. Trotter, LMAs lead, said the campus served 29 day-school students and 13 night-school students at the time of the presentation and highlighted individualized instruction, use of an online curriculum platform (Edgenuity), weekly DBT-informed social-emotional learning sessions, and credit recovery systems. She said the program met a target of graduating 18 students last year from the cohort and that graduates had varied post-graduation placements, including employment with FedEx and enrollment at Virginia Union University.

Students described the program as supportive. Night-school student Diana Minor told the board the smaller classes helped her re-engage academically: "The smaller class sizes and personalized support helps me reconnect with learning," Minor said, adding that teachers accommodated transportation challenges and enrichment activities such as gardening, music and financial-literacy workshops.

Staff described a range of community partnerships that support applied learning, including the Virginia Cooperative Extension/4-H, a "Real Money, Real World" simulation and collaborations with local employers and nonprofits such as Leather and Honey and Wartime Fitness. The division said it plans to grow pathways into KTEC (vocational) programs, seeking a 12 percent increase in KTEC enrollment (about eight additional students) and expanding workforce supports for students who work during the day, including employer outreach to align schedules and soft-skills coaching.

Attendance remains a focus: administrators said campus-level attendance rates were reasonable but individual chronic absenteeism affects outcomes. LMA staff said they have begun creating individual attendance plans with incentives and door-knocking outreach for students with five or more absences. The program also plans additional Friday collaboration days to allow night-school students to access enrichment and make-up work.

The board and speakers discussed space and capacity constraints. Administrators said LMA is near capacity and that staff are exploring ways to tell the programs story more widely in order to encourage appropriate referrals and grow enrollment. Board members recommended professional development for mainstream teachers to observe LMA practices and suggested community members "just show up" to volunteer, an approach administrators encouraged.

No formal board action was required at the presentation; staff invited follow-up questions and said they would return with additional planning items as needed.