Good evening, everyone, and uh welcome to uh the Hampton City Council ceremonial session.

Um I'd like to welcome everyone to this special ceremony tonight, and I'm pleased to welcome uh many of the uh students from our dual enrollment program at Hampton City Schools are joining us tonight.

We have 69 outstanding dual enrollment students, and these uh young people have diligently work on diligently work to earn their associates' degrees, which they will receive on Thursday evening before they have received their high school diplomas at their commencement ceremony.

So uh let me all mention to you the staggering number since these students accomplish this within their high school environments instead of paying college tuition, it represents a significant savings for their parents if they go on to college.

Uh the sum total of 730,470 dollars is how much they've saved your parents, and let me repeat that that number 730,457 dollars that you save with uh the credits you've earned in high school.

Congratulations to all of you.

So before I get started, I want to uh acknowledge uh some of our school board uh school division leadership with us this evening.

We have uh from uh school board, Mr.

Joe Kilgore.

Thank you.

Thank you for joining us and uh from the school division leadership.

We have Dr.

Raymond Haynes, Superintendent, Dr.

John Caggiano, Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Staff.

We have Miss Shamika Pollett, Chief of Secondary School Leadership.

Uh Dr.

David Cochley, executive principal.

And we have Miss Woodruff, Helen Woodruff.

I can't see you over there.

Good.

How are you doing?

Uh she's the Academy of Principal.

And uh Dr.

Love Doll Steele, is she with us this evening?

How are you doing?

Good.

Thank you for being here.

All right, we have a lot of ground to cover this evening as we present the recognition certificates, and uh, we do need to move through it quickly so that everyone has an opportunity to be recognized.

So our council members will join me in front of the day as to congratulate our students.

But I'm also going to ask that we not individually shake hands.

We've already talked about that part.

Our clerk will call the students' name in alphabetical order.

Doc uh Mr.

Brian Marcase will give all the students their certificate, and then we'll ask each of them to join us in the middle of the council members for a photograph.

And the parents, you may feel to run up and uh take a photograph of uh your student uh at the appropriate time.

So with that, I am going to turn it over to our marketing and outreach coordinator Brian Marcese, who will take it from here.

Brian.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of council, city manager, and city attorney.

Tonight is something we get to do that's genuinely exciting.

We get to recognize 69 students who decided that high school wasn't enough of a challenge for them.

Um they're getting their associate's degree before their high school diploma.

When Hampton City Schools partnered with Virginia Peninsula Community College to launch the AIDS Academy, the idea was to give students who are ready for more the opportunity to pursue a college degree alongside their high school diploma.

Everybody, this is a lot of people.

Um in 2018, two students proved that this could be done.

Tonight, as you can see from the crowded chambers, 69 students have shown just how far the idea has come.

These students who balance the demands of high school, the sports, the activities, the friendships, the ordinary chaos of just being a teenager, while simultaneously completing a full two-year college degree.

It's unimaginable, and they will receive their associate's degree tomorrow, an entire month before they walk across the stage for their high school graduation.

That's not an accident, it's a decision that they made every single day to show up and do the work to their families here tonight.

You know what this journey is actually look like.

You guys saw the late nights, the early mornings.

You provide the encouragement when it was hard to wake up in the morning or get rides when it got late.

And beyond the pride you rightfully feel, consider this two years of college tuition, fees and textbooks, they're all handled.

That is a real meaningful gift.

And to the educators, the counselors, the school leaders who believed in these students and push them forward, thank you.

Programs like these don't run themselves.

They run on people who refuse to set the ceiling too low for the students.

Like the mayor said uh a moment ago, we're gonna have the clerk call each student's name, and Mayor Gray and Council will come down here and have your certificate ready for a picture.

Um, like the mayor said, if you guys come up, there'll be read in alphabetical order.

Okay, and so we will have a city photographer right here taking photos.

So parents, if you want to come up and take a picture, just kind of look for your student and then kind of make your way up and by the time your student gets to uh their name is called.

So, we put that on the slide, but we have to do this, and I don't know, I don't know.

Okay, is everyone ready?

Caitlin Elmonte Lopez.

And Mayor, these young people I think have outwitted us, which isn't surprising.

It looks like they're lined up in order, so I can read a little faster.

And parents, please, like the mayor said you can come right up.

You see your student, it's maybe way right up to you.

The next student is Brianna Buchanan.

Zaniah Carter.

Now we have Caitlin Chapman.

Yeah.

Now Micah Chatham.

Maya Cooper Wasson.

Demetria Cradle.

Creedle, I apologize.

Thank you.

It's either Tanasha or Tanacia Darden Cameron David.

Talia Ellsworth, Kyla Fennel, Jalen Garland.

This is Jalen Garland.

Now we have Bryce Gillies, Henry Godfrey.

Now we have Cheyenne Gomez, followed by Sydney Goodley, Jada Gow, Jaden Hardman, Darion Harley, Donovan Harris, Taylor Harrison.

Zaniah Harris, Myra Hassan, Noah Hatton, Brandon Henderson, Zane Hollis, Julia Hooks, Avery Hundley, Rachel Hutchison, Giovanni Kelly, Gabriella Lettisman, Lettisma, Catherine Leach, Caleb Lucas, Valerie McElvine, Elena McLaughlin, Kalia Minor, Oh, Calia.

Elena McLaughlin, Kalea Minor, Josiah Moore, Kyle Moore.

Antoine Pennell, Kamaya Pierce, Sadie Pingator, Asher Porter, Shia Sharp, Philip Sigler, the Third Aubrey Smith.

Haley Smith Joyce Sokar, Anaya Solomon, Troy Solomona, Robin Sorrell, Kenneth Staten, Madison Tatum Harper, Kamia Taylor.

Haviland Walden Bryan.

Cameron, Washington.

Nicholas Watts.

Khalia West.

Devin Wilkins.

Kennedy Williams.

Saniah Willie.

Shelby Wise.

Aaron Wortham Worthman.

And I believe this young man must be Clayton Young.

Congratulations to every single one of you guys.

Let's have another round of applause.

And I'm also very impressed that you guys were all in off order, ready to go.

That was amazing.

So you guys came into this uh academy ready for a challenge and you delivered.

What comes next, be it going on to a four year university to get your bachelor's, starting a career, or serving.

You're starting farther ahead than most, and you've earned every single bit of it.

We're proud of you to call Hampton's own.

Mayor Gray, back to you.

Good, thank you, Brian.

And you know, again, I uh ditto what Brian said.

We are very proud of all of you.

We're proud of all of our Hampton students.

But uh, you know, what your accomplishment of uh achieving an associate's degree while you're still in high school is is significant, and uh, we brag about it all the time, all over everywhere we go.

We're telling people about what's happening in Hampton City schools, how our kids are being educated and and what you're doing.

It's it's just truly extraordinary.

So you uh, you know, we we hope uh you'll go to college and uh eventually make your way back to Hampton and make Hampton your home.

And uh we also look forward to seeing your graduation.

So we we do this uh special ceremony just to recognize this significant accomplishment that you made, but we also look forward to celebrating your graduate from high school as well.

So look forward to seeing all of you walk across the stage as you get that diploma as well.

So uh any other comments from council members, we got for extra time.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Uh, I want to ditto what the mayor just said.

Uh when I was in high school back in the Stone Ages, uh, we didn't I didn't have an opportunity to uh get the associate's degree prior to my diploma.

I had a uh teacher, uh Justin Furlow, who is no longer with us, and he grabbed me one time in the hallway.

So, listen, he says you should go to college because I had no one that ever gone to college in my family.

And uh so I took his advice and went to Norfolk State, behold the green and go.

Behold, I said, Yeah, okay, we got it, you got it.

Um, but tonight is very special, and uh want to congratulate you and look forward to seeing the great things that you're going to do and look forward to your college graduation tomorrow and then your high school graduation in June.

God bless you.

And parents, thank you.

Yes, city manager.

Um, I know you hadn't called on me, but I didn't want to let the opportunity pass if if it's okay to say I don't think there's any other school division in Virginia that produces 69 associate degree students at one time.

So I think they deserve another round of applause, not just for their individual competition.

But also for making our school division proud and our city proud, because you know, we we we believe in regional cooperation, we do a lot regionally together, but we also have a little bit of pride in our own city and our own school division, and I think it's a great day, and many people watch this meeting that don't have kids in school or don't have any affiliation with the school system.

So I think it's important for them to know that collectively you outshine the entire state in terms of the school divisions that can do this kind of thing.

So great job.

And and again, while the students uh you know achieving this major milestone and and really making us proud, you know, there's another group of people, a lot of a lot of, you know, there are a lot of people in the community who contributed to what you accomplished.

You know, all of the school division leadership, your parents, you know, your neighbors, your mentors, and um, and your teachers.

And so this week, uh, May 4th through 8 is teacher appreciation week.

So I just wanted to take this time to read a proclamation that I've signed uh in recognition of teacher appreciation this week.

And whereas teachers are the heart of our educational system, and whereas they dedicate their time, talent, and passion to empowering our students to reach their highest potential and be the best of themselves.

And whereas teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to provide encouragement, support, and care that extends beyond the classroom, and whereas they foster critical thinking, instill desire for learning and shape the future through their commitment to excellence, and whereas the knowledge, skills, and character that young people development during their high school years directly impacts the success of our community, and whereas teacher appreciation we provides an opportunity for those in the community to thank our teachers and all educators for the contributions they make to and to let them know that they are valued and appreciated.

Now, therefore, our James A.

Gray, Jr., mayor on behalf of the City Council of the City of Hampton, Virginia, do hear rapid claim May 4th through eighth, twenty twenty six as teacher appreciation week in the city of Hampton, Virginia, and we encourage all citizens to join me in celebrating and honoring the invaluable contributions our teachers and educators make to our community.

And in witness whereof I'm here and to set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Hampton, Virginia to be affixed this thirteenth day of May two thousand and twenty six.