October 14, 2025, Consolidation Impact Review Group Meeting - Long Branch - R.L. Brown Gifted and Ac (2025-10-14)

1 | P a g e Meeting Notes: Consolidation Impact Review Committee | Richard L. Brown ES | Long Branch ES – Tuesday, October 14, 2025 Richard L. Brown ES | Long Branch ES Consolidation Impact Review Committee Meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. at Long Branch ES. Present: District Staff: Sharwonda Peek, Stephanie Stripling-Mitchell, Tracie Abraham, Corey Wright, Christina Gazdick, Marianne Simon, Stephanie Manabat, Laura Bowes and Sonya McSwain School-based Administrators: Kristie Kincaid (Richard L. Brown ES) and Wayman F. Graham (Long Branch ES) Board Members: Anthony Ricardo and Darryl Willie Consolidation Impact Review Committee Members: Stakeholder Group Member Name School Current/Prospective Principal Kristi Kincaid RL Brown Current/Prospective Principal Wayman F. Graham Long Branch Teacher Annie Tomko Long Branch Teacher Tiffany Tyson Long Branch Teacher Lashan White RL Brown Parent/Guardian Vickie Cash Long Branch School Staff (non-cert) Eryn Harris Long Branch Local Government Octavius Holiday Long Branch Local Community Member Hank Rogers RL Brown Local Community Member Rudy Jameson Long Branch Civic Organization Jewel Flornoy RL Brown Civic Organization Mary Blocker-Williams Long Branch Supporting Organization Jackie Lattimore Long Branch Corey Wright gave an opening greeting. Mr. Wright explained the agenda for the evening. He reviewed the process overview and stated that we are presently holding meeting #3. Mr. Wright then presented “bring-back” information that the committee had requested. These slides included:

2 | P a g e • Enrollment Data – showed changes from 20-day count to survey 2 and then survey 3 for the periods covering SY 20-21 thru SY 24-25 • Recent Consolidation Data- showed the five (5) consolidations during the 25-26 school year for the following schools: Annie R. Morgan into Biltmore, Kings Trail into Beauclerc, Windy Hill into Southside Estates, Susie Tolbert into S. P. Livingston, and R. V. Daniels into Richard Lewis Brown. Percentages of students from the closing school that enrolled in the consolidation school were presented. Of the five closing schools listed 82% remained enrolled with DCPS. Of all the elementary schools in the district, 89% of students remained enrolled with DCPS for SY 25-26. • Student Continuity of Schools- showed enrollment from 2021-2024 for North Shore, Long Branch, Northwestern Legends, Richard Lewis Brown, Smart Pope Livingston, John E Fore, and Andrew A. Robinson. • John Love PK Learning Center-provided details about the funding source and enrollment • Enrollment Initiatives -highlighted prospective student outreach and school awareness, ways to improve and simplify reenrollment, improve customer service, and reestablishes the School Expo on November 15th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Prime Osborn Center. • Long Branch building 3-displayed the location and the current maintenance needed totaling about $1.42 million. There are 176 student seats that do not count towards the school’s current FISH capacity. • Facility Condition Index Report- revealed anticipated cost of repairs needed at Long Branch and Richard Lewis Brown. An opportunity to provide public comments was given. Thirteen (13) comments were made; however, only one (1) comment card was returned. The meeting was then turned over to Dr. Marianne Simon, who noted that the “SELECT” process in the TregoEd Decision-Making model was used by the internal district team to analyze risks and considerations. She explained how an internal team of district personnel, trained in this process, had reviewed the items charted from the previous meeting to score three (3) different scenarios: 1. Long Branch closes-consolidates to Richard Lewis Brown (w/dedicated magnet) 2. Long Branch closes-consolidates to Richard Lewis Brown (w/out dedicated magnet) 3. Close Richard Lewis Brown move Long Branch to Richard Lewis bldg. with a magnet program She also indicated that the idea of including John Love as a part of the consolidation was not used because the students do not generate FTE. After presenting how each item in the risks and considerations had been scored, Dr. Simon stated that the TregoEd recommendation is to close Long Branch Elementary building and consolidate into Richard Lewis Brown building, keep the Gifted and Talented magnet, and change the name to Long Branch Academy at Richard Lewis Brown. At this point there was dialogue with the CIR (Consolidation Impact Review Committee) asking questions of both Dr. Simon and Mr. Wright.

3 | P a g e The CIR Chair asked for a motion from the committee to reject the recommendation. A second motion was made. The Chair called for a vote to reject the recommendation. Ten (10) members agreed to reject the recommendation. Following the vote, there was a robust discussion between the members of the Consolidation Impact Review Committee to determine alternatives. The discussion included: • The effectiveness and timeliness of school consolidations • Options for other schools to consolidate rather than placing a back-to-back consolidation on Richard Lewis Brown • Understanding that competing schools such as charters and private schools are implementing programs and extra-curricular activities at the elementary level to attract and retain students After the discussion, a member of the committee asked for a motion to recommend that both Richard Lewis Brown and Long Branch remain open, Richard Lewis Brown keeps the Gifted and Talented magnet and add Health Science and Zoology, Long Branch will implement a STEAM program to include a band elective as the art component. A second motion was taken and the Chair called for a vote. Ten (10) members agreed to accept the recommendation. Tracie Abraham thanked the working group for their participation in this ACE process. The group was informed that a final community meeting will be held once a decision is made. No date was given. The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.