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see FREE CLINIC
By Laura McFarland
Managing Editor
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POWHATAN – The Powhatan County School Board is considering a policy change related to parent notifi cations of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.
During the board’s meeting on Nov. 8, Tracie Omohundro, assistant superintendent for instruction, gave a presentation on how staff is recommending adjusting its policy. Senate Bill 656 requires that local school boards shall adopt policies no later than Jan. 1, 2023.
The policy regarding ensuring parental notifi cation of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content outlines that the division must directly identify the specifi c instructional material and sexually explicit subjects and permit the parent of any student to review instructional material that includes sexually explicit content and provide, as an alternative, non-explicit instructional material and related academic activities to any student whose parent so requests.
Omohundro said the fi rst step is creating the policy. The school division then has to develop procedures for division curriculum resources and classroom supplemental materials. The division also has to identify items and apply procedures to materials that may fall under the policy using defi nitions provided by the state.
According to the code section, “ ‘Sexually explicit content” means (i) any description of or (ii) any picture, photograph, drawing, motion picture fi lm, digital image or similar visual representation depicting sexual bestiality, a lewd exhibition of nudity, as nudity is defi ned in § 18.2-390, sexual excitement, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse, as also defi ned in § 18.2-390, coprophilia, urophilia, or fetishism.”
According to the draft policy, the superintendent is responsible for creating, implementing and periodically updating procedures for implementing this policy. Those procedures will include processes for: identifying instructional materials with sexually explicit content; providing notice to parents prior to the use of any instructional materials with sexually explicit content; access for parental review of instructional materials that include sexually explicit content unless such review is not technically feasible or is prohibited by copyright protection; and informing parents of their right to request that their child use alternative, non-explicit instructional materials and/ or related academic activities.
According to the draft policy, “ ‘Instructional material’ is any content used by one or more students for an educational purpose, regardless of its format or thetime, place and manner in which the content is used. Library materials are considered instructional materials when assigned for use for completion of an assignment, or as part of an academic or extracurricular educational program. Materials containing sexually explicit content does not automatically disqualify them from use. Instructional materials shall not be designated as sexually explicit based solely on sexual orientation of the characters therein.”
The policy is expected to come back for a fi nal presentation at the school board’s Dec. 13 meeting.
If the policy is passed, Omohundro said there is no deadline for when the procedures need to be done, but “once the policy is in place, in good faith we need to start developing those procedures so we can get them in place and into practice as quickly as possible.”
First Omohundro and later Rick Cole, who represents District 1, pointed out that while this policy is important, having the kind of sexually explicit materials covered in this policy is not a regular occurrence in PCPS.
Much of the discussion regarding this matter was driven by Dr. James Taylor, District 4. He asked about notifi cations about school assemblies and making sure parents receive ample notifi cations as well as wanting to identify materials in teachers’ classroom libraries.
Taylor also argued fervently for the possibility of expanding on the proposed draft to include materials that deal with gender identity.
Omohundro repeatedly pointed out gender identify does not fall under the defi nition of sexually explicit content.
Taylor also took issue with the timing of the policy, saying it needs to be in place before Jan. 1 but if signifi cant changes were made to it at the December meeting, the public would have a right to know about the changes before a vote was taken.
Some discussion revolved around pointing out the policy could be adopted as-is and updated again later as the board goes more in depth in what it wants.
No formal action or proposed changes to the draft policy were made at this meeting.
Other business handled at the meeting included: The school board is seeking parent feedback on two potential calendar drafts proposed for the 20232024 school year. Omohundro presented two main options developed in conjunction with a calendar committee with the superintendent receiving feedback from student and teacher advisory groups.
Topics discussed during development included teacher and student days assigned; professional development days; parent-teacher conferences; fall holidays; length of quarters (nine weeks) and semesters; length and timing of winter break; and graduation. The two calendars meet state requirements for instructional hours. On both calendars, the fi rst day of school would be Aug. 21, 2023, and the last day would be May 31, 2024.
The major difference between the two options is the timing of the winter break. Under Option 1, the end of the fi rst semester would be Dec. 15, with a winter break held from Dec. 18, 2023, through Jan. 1, 2024. This option creates bookends with three
see MATERIALS, pg. 10
FREE CLINIC
Continued from pg. 1
said.
Schmitt is warm, kind and has proven he cares about the patients, she said. Without giving specifi c details because of patient confi dentiality, Moslow shared how Schmitt accompanied a patient to a specialist doctor’s appointment because language was a barrier and he wanted to make sure the patient was understood. Schmitt started to learn medical terms in Spanish so he could better communicate with some of his patients.
“Who does that,” Moslow said, shaking her head with a smile.
Schmitt has been volunteering with the Free Clinic for about a year and a half but his career in medicine has lasted more than 50 years. He graduated from medical school in 1971 and now at age 78 still feels like he has something to give and to learn.
He said he is an internist with his boards in internal medicine, spinal cord injury and endocrinology. He retired from the Veterans Administration after 33 years and, not content to fi ll his life with only hobbies and still wanting to use his knowledge and skills, began volunteering at a few other locations.
Schmitt said that despite a career in medicine spanning more than fi ve decades, he is still expanding his knowledge, which can only help future patients he sees.
“I will say one thing about medicine is it is a learning experience and there are mistakes you make and things you discover you should have done differently. They are imprinted in your mind what you should have done differently,” he said. “As you move along in medicine, what you learn in time impacts patient care. Now I have this experience I can look back on and say ‘I learned that, I know something now I didn’t know fi ve years ago’ and it is great I have this extra knowledge.”
Medical education should be a continuous thing where you learn more and get better and better from your experience, he added.
Schmitt was in the U.S. Air Force for two years after he fi nished his residency and later went into the U.S. Navy for four years. He also served for 17 years in the Navy Reserves. He said all of his military service he served in a medical capacity.
Schmitt, who lives in Midlothian, said he actually was volunteering at the Goochland Free Clinic and ended up in Powhatan by chance. He received a mailer intended to attract patients and called up and ended up volunteering in Powhatan.
“I called them up and they said ‘we can use you’ and I started volunteering,” he said.
The Free Clinic of Powhatan serves an extremely important need for those in the community who fall in areas where they are not eligible for patient care, Schmitt said.
“There is a barrier where if you have enough money you get all the patient care in the world. If you have some money but not enough, you are not eligible for patient care. If you have absolutely no money, you can get patient care again,” he said. “There are people who fall into an area where they are not eligible for patient care. We fi ll a gap in patient care and get to help somebody who would not get help.”
Over and above simply wanting to help people, Schmitt said he enjoys the Free Clinic and the other staff and volunteers, who are hardworking, cheerful and genuinely care about the patients. Volunteering to help others makes people feel good about themselves, he said, adding he is no different.
There are parts of life many people dedicate to getting what they want – money, fame, power, position and more, he said when talking about the surprise of receiving the Volunteer of the Year award.
“It is nice to reach a certain point where you have made the choice to do something for people not expecting a fi nancial award. It makes you feel virtuous,” he said. “I feel virtuous working here, and getting a little recognition for working here makes me feel virtuous.”
When not at the Free Clinic, Schmitt said he enjoys spending time with his wife and walking their dogs. He is also a writer, with two books already, “The Lottery of Life and Death” and “Speed Bumps and Tsetse Flies,” and a third, a novel, he is currently writing.
Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.
TOUR
Continued from pg. 3 New Walk Bible Church bought the beautiful historic building, which was in need of much repair, from the Episcopal Diocese.
The members of the church repaired damaged plaster, sanded and painted walls, replaced or refi nished fl ooring in the sanctuary and fellowship halls, replaced broken window panes, restored the foundation, and replaced the electrical and plumbing. The people of Powhatan responded to the group’s presence with gifts of free gravel, tree removal, fl owers and landscaping, half priced paint, and a mural for the nursery.
New Walk members are planning to share with visitors much of the church’s history and a fair amount of the architecture that makes it so unique. They will be decorating with natural plants and herbs, similar to how it would have been adorned in the Victorian Age. They also plan to serve cookies and punch. Hollywood Baptist Church had its beginning rooted in God’s intervention and the transformation of the lives of its ancestors in 1862. The church was established before the Emancipation Proclamation, where freed slaves began worshiping at the Petersville Baptist Church in Powhatan, a congregation of blacks and whites. These former slaves formally congregated under a brush arbor near the holly trees outside the church and decided in 1862 to establish an independent black Baptist Church called “Hollywood Baptist Church.” Not long after its establishment, the congregation purchased the property and began worshiping at the present location.
In 1903, the congregation through much prayer and faith was obedient to God’s Word and erected a building that has stood for generations. Learn how Hollywood got its name as the rest of their history comes to light on the tour. Mount Pero Baptist Church was constructed in 1874 with its fi rst place of worship under a brush arbor. After the Civil War, the black people of this community were told they could worship at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. They worshiped there until 1873. At that time, they were given 1 acre of land on which they could build a church. A brush arbor was constructed as the fi rst place of worship with the fi rst service taking place on the fi rst Sunday of September 1874. In 1876, a building was erected to replace the arbor. In 1937, the cemetery was opened and in 1940 electric lights were installed in the church. Mt. Pero continued to grow and, in 1962, the cornerstone was laid for the new church.
Over the past 148 years, Mt. Pero has gone from worshipping once a month to every Sunday and has had only nine pastors. Learn more of the history of Mount Pero on the tour. The Drexel-Morrell Center invites local and global communities to envision, create and sustain a place that: develops as a site for gathering as a community, to research the ancestors’ stories and that shapes and creates a new narrative for the future; creates a place of ecosocial justice that honors the story of the land and the people; and establishes a place of education and inspiration dedicated to renewing the Earth where individuals and organizations gather to celebrate the wisdom of the past and create a path for justice today and into the future.
For more information about the Coalition of Powhatan Churches, visit https://www.coalitionofpowhatanchurches.com/.
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