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District seeks $10,635 VDOE microgrant to pilot student wellness work on social‑media use
Summary
The district presented a $10,635 Virginia Department of Education microgrant proposal to pilot mindfulness programming, staff webinars and parent resources aimed at reducing internet and social‑media overuse at four Equity and Excellence Learning Centers.
Doctor Cole and Dr. Dennis Moore of the student‑wellness team described a proposed microgrant from the Virginia Department of Education to pilot interventions aimed at reducing social‑media overuse and internet misuse at the district’s four Equity and Excellence Learning Centers (EELCs). The grant request is for $10,635 and, per VDOE rules cited by staff, must be presented to and voted on by the board at a business meeting.
Staff said the grant activities would include a mindfulness program for students, a speaker/webinar addressing mental‑health concerns associated with internet and social‑media addiction, and a professional‑development library of materials available to each participating school for staff and parents. The goal stated by staff is to decrease barriers to academic engagement linked to excessive online use and to provide training and resources that could be scaled to other schools if the pilot produces positive results.
Board members asked how the district will measure outcomes. Dr. Moore said the team plans a three‑part metric set: (1) reductions in school‑recorded phone/cell‑phone infractions, (2) parent engagement at school events and (3) staff uptake of the provided PD resources; staff noted that districtwide survey tools (such as Panorama) do not currently separate social‑media addiction metrics and that the pilot will rely on locally tracked metrics and feedback. The presenters said the grant will support student programming, staff webinars, and parent resources and that they intend to replicate successful strategies in other schools.
Board members said they supported a pilot but asked for clarity on metrics and parental outreach. Staff said they will partner with existing school parent‑engagement activities at the EELCs, create printed and digital resources for families, and provide webinars and materials for staff. The microgrant is ready for formal submission and will be included on the business agenda for board action.
