Agenda - 10-17-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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9 1 Rani Dasi said there are increasing mental health needs and she is glad to be having 2 this collaborative discussion, to assess the current status and adjust as necessary to plan for 3 the future. 4 Commissioner Rich asked if OCS and CHCCS collaborate on this issue. 5 Janet Gerry said she used to work with Sherita Cobb, which has laid the groundwork for 6 an increasingly collaborative relationship. 7 Commissioner Rich asked if parents are being made aware of these services. 8 Janet Gerry said this will be forthcoming on their school websites, and the point of 9 contact will be the social workers. 10 Sherita Cobb said OCS has a brochure of mental health services, which is shared in 11 many ways with students and parents. 12 13 7. Information Item: 14 • North Carolina School Boards Association —2017 Legislative Summary 15 16 Commissioner Marcoplos said he has heard a lot of discussions about 17 reviving/increasing vocational education classes around the country, and he would love to see 18 more, well trained young tradespeople out there. He asked if this is a part of local 19 conversations. 20 James Barrett said one of the most popular classes in CHCCS is their bio-medical 21 classes. He said CHCCS also has a fire academy. 22 Tony McKnight said OCS has been working with the North Carolina Department of 23 Commerce to connect students with registered apprenticeships, and OCS hopes to expand this. 24 Dr. Todd Wirt said OCS has a comprehensive offering in this area, with a fire academy 25 class having been added recently at Orange High School and a criminal justice program at 26 Cedar Ridge High School. He said both of these programs feed into the EMT program at 27 Durham Tech, which also offers a lot of trade programs as well. 28 Tony McKnight said he has been to East Chapel Hill High School, and he is interested in 29 going back. 30 Commissioner Price reinforced what Commissioner Marcoplos was talking about, noting 31 the connection between knowing a trade and successfully gaining employment. 32 Commissioner Rich said it may be beneficial to have a follow up discussion during 33 budget season. 34 Commissioner Marcoplos said there is growing knowledge about the perils of football 35 and brain damage. He asked if there has been any discussion of doing baseline studies on 36 children, who are playing football, and if there has been any medical testing or diagnoses; and if 37 so he asked if students can take this medical information with them. He said this topic must be 38 talked about. 39 Steve Halkiotis said he read that participation in high school football across the country 40 is falling. He said OCS has two nationally certified medical trainers at its high schools; board 41 policies regarding concussions; and reports submitted on an annual basis to monitor the issue 42 closely. 43 James Barrett said the CHCCS board reviewed a concussion policy last week, and 44 noted that it is not just a question of returning to play the sport, but being able to return to learn. 45 He said CHCCS is also monitoring this issue closely. 46 Joal Broun said the UNC team studying the concussion issue is a voluntary program, 47 and is testing soccer players. 48 Commissioner Jacobs said after football, soccer is the number one sport for 49 concussions for boys, and soccer is the number one sport for girls.