March 27, 2025 • 24 mins
Our 20th episode pulls back the curtain on the powerful community partnerships that help us excel. We're joined by DeShonna Brown (Chesapeake Council PTA President), Chris Crouch (Educational Foundation Chair), and Sean Murphy (Foundation Board Member and Grassfield alumnus) for a candid conversation about supporting our schools.
Whether you're a parent wondering how to get involved, a business looking to connect with schools, or simply someone who cares about education, this episode offers practical pathways to make a difference. After all, as our guests remind us, the strength of our schools reflects the strength of our community involvement.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Matt (00:00):
Welcome to Amplify the Chesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Chris (00:13):
Chesapeake Public Schools is located in the Hampton Roads
region of southeastern Virginia.
We proudly serve over 40,000students in 45 schools and three
centers.
Join us as we share the storiesbehind our story by celebrating
the people and programs thatmake us one of the premier
school districts in Virginia.
Matt (00:32):
Hey listeners, this is Matt Graham here with Chris Bale
, and today is our 20th episodehere on Amplify the Chesapeake
Public Schools podcast.
Chris (00:43):
Matt, we're going stronger than ever.
Matt (00:45):
now that is absolutely correct.
And on this 20th episode wehave a special topic and it's
all about our communitypartnerships.
Chris (00:55):
We really are pulling back the curtain on this one.
We get the president ofChesapeake Council PTA, the
board chair for the ChesapeakeEducational Foundation and a
member.
Matt (01:06):
Listeners.
I hope you tune in and listento the positive impact that they
are making in our schools.
Welcome to the podcast.
Can each of you take a momentand introduce yourself and maybe
share a little bit about howyou're connected with Chesapeake
Public Schools?
DeShonna (01:25):
My name DeShonna Brown Brown.
I am the president of theChesapeake Council of PTAs.
Sean Murphy (01:35):
My name is Sean Murphy.
I am a financial advisor withEdward Jones and I'm on the
board of directors for theEducational Foundation Proud
Grassfield Grizzly class of 2013.
Born and raised in Chesapeake,moved away to Maryland for a
couple of years, but Chesapeakeis really good at sucking us
back.
Chris Crouch (01:48):
So here I am, and I am Chris Crouch.
I am a principal at RRMMArchitects here in Chesapeake
and I am the chair of theEducational Foundation.
Chris (02:03):
All right, so let's jump right in.
Why do you guys do what you dowith Chesapeake Public Schools?
What's your reasoning forgiving back?
DeShonna (02:06):
Mine were purely personal.
My son started in ChesapeakePublic Schools when he was two
years old and I was nervous asall get out.
My two-year-old was starting inone of the preschool programs
and I come from a family ofeducators.
I was a stay-at-home mom.
I needed to be near my son, soI joined the PTA.
Chris (02:29):
I think that first time you send your child off to
school I don't care, I'm a dad Iwas nervous and you want to be
involved and you want to knowwhat's going on in the school
right.
DeShonna (02:39):
It was my way of wiggling myself into the school.
Chris (02:42):
And what a great way to do it too.
How about you, Sean?
Sean Murphy (02:46):
My background is my mom actually taught special ed
at Great Bridge Middle.
Even before I was born,chesapeake Public Schools has
kind of been a thing for me.
Again, the way I got involvedwas Chesapeake gave me a lot
growing up, so the most I coulddo is really just tap back in
when I was called upon by Chrisand your beautiful wife Andrea
(03:06):
to join the board and reallyit's just been a good way to
reconnect and start to give backnow that I'm a little bit older
and wiser.
Chris Crouch (03:14):
Yeah, I was the same.
I have three boys.
I put my first one on the busat Cedar Road and you know, up
to that point our company hadalways stroked a check to
Chesapeake Schools but we neverreally were engaged and involved
.
So I was actually at the stateof the schools and I was just
seeing ways that we could getinvolved and I texted Andrea and
(03:36):
I said, hey, I'm in, whateveryou need, and she put me on a
golf tournament and then kind of, the rest is history.
Steve Best said you're not justdoing golf tournaments, you're
going to be on the foundation.
Matt (03:45):
You're mentioning the Chesapeake Public Schools
Educational Foundation.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about what that is Sure?
Chris Crouch (03:52):
So it's evolved over the last eight years or so.
But really what we try to do isbridge that gap that exists,
whether it's funding, whetherit's the mentorships that we try
and draw people in.
You know, I always telleverybody that it's not just the
money piece, it's thementorship, it's the knowledge
that you can provide to thesestudents, to these teachers.
Sometimes it's just resources.
(04:13):
We have a lot of businessesthat are growing, they're
changing and a lot of time weget donations just from surplus
that these teachers need,because kids are coming to
school without pencils or thingslike that.
So really we exist to bridgethe gaps and we lean on Dr
Cotton and his team to tell us,hey, we could really use this or
we could use that, and then wego out and we try and make that
(04:36):
happen.
Chris (04:37):
Deshauna with the PTA.
What a big undertaking that is.
So do you want to talk aboutsome of the work that your group
does with the schools?
DeShonna (04:46):
Absolutely.
We do all kinds of enrichmentprograms for the students.
We just finished theReflections program, so we had
106 entries and then, once wejudge them and they go to the
state level, we actuallysubmitted 27 of our 106.
The state level we actuallysubmitted 27 of our 106.
(05:06):
We had 16 to place and then wehad four to actually win state
and they're going on to nationaland when they go to national
they actually can win prizes andall kinds of things and it's
just.
It's a great opportunity for thestudents.
They can do art, they can dofilm, they can do dance.
It just lets them expressthemselves and there are no
(05:27):
boundaries put on them.
So we actually in the PTAs,between all of us, all the
schools, we actually offer$30,000 in scholarship money
every year.
So we have a list on ourwebsite.
We encourage everybody to go,all the students.
We have middle schools thatoffer scholarships.
(05:48):
We're in the schools, whetherit's trying to help boost morale
, doing stuff for the teachers.
I know one of the schoolscalled me yesterday.
They're buying a book for everystudent for SOLs.
So we really try to againbridge the gap, just like you
guys do, and just be the bootson the ground in the building.
Chris (06:10):
You guys are doing some amazing work, but I want to hear
about your biggest successstory, something that really
pulled at the heartstrings andyou're like this is why I'm
doing what I'm doing.
Chris Crouch (06:22):
COVID is probably an easy one for us to all look
back at and the impact that wehad.
We were flying by the seat ofour pants during that time and a
lot of it was going to virtualand Dr Cotton said, hey, we have
a lot of kids that don't haveInternet at home.
We're not going to be able toget this done without some type
of support.
And he actually asked us for$25,000.
(06:43):
And we asked him what thataccomplishes and he kind of gave
us a percentage and we cameback with $100,000 and said we
want to take care of everysingle kid.
So during COVID we gave themthe money to buy hotspots for
every kid that did not haveinternet at home and that
allowed them to stay engaged,stay connected throughout that
time period.
(07:03):
So that one really hit home theimpact that we can make.
Matt (07:09):
Another impact that you are making is through the care
spaces that are in our schools.
Sean, can you tell us a littlebit about that?
Sean Murphy (07:16):
That was kind of cool because, before I was even
on the Educational Foundation, Imoved back here in 2018.
And Ms Savoy, who was at OscarSmith High, got me connected
with them, tutoring a lot of thestudents during the day, and it
was really cool because you gotto hear the stories from
everybody and you got to developa personal relationship with a
lot of the boys, girls, you know, and they were all at different
(07:38):
stages of life.
And hearing some of theirstories, you know, one girl
would wake up.
She had two little brothersthey lived with their
grandparents, had to take themto school.
Then, guess what?
She went and did a four or fivehour shift at cookout right
after school.
Right back to doing what shewas doing waking up, feeding the
kids, getting them to school.
She was playing pseudo mom and16, 17,.
(08:01):
That's crazy.
So seeing all of that and thenseeing us be able to do these
care closets, it's.
I mean, I don't have kids, I'mnot doing anything crazy now,
but I forget stuff in themorning to brush my teeth or
throw deodorant on.
Matt (08:17):
It happens.
Life is hectic.
Sean Murphy (08:18):
But to have that there for somebody like that who
they're growing up but they'rehaving to grow up with their
brothers and sisters at the sametime but have that role model
and just really leader of thehouse mentality, just putting
something small there for themthat if they forgot it they can
just go snag it really quick.
Chris (08:35):
Yeah, I think that's one of the things maybe our
community members don'tunderstand.
You know, you think pencil, youthink paper, you think
Chromebook now.
But if that student's coming toschool without deodorant,
without the toothbrush, justsimple things, they're not going
to be comfortable in class,they're not going to have that
ability to sit down and learn.
So I know, especially in someof our less fortunate areas,
(08:59):
those care spaces have meant alot to those schools and they go
through a lot of items.
So you as foundation members,part of that job is trying to
get business partners toreplenish some of those harder
to find items.
Chris Crouch (09:13):
Yeah, when we first started it, I don't think
we realized how big it was goingto be.
We started getting calls thatbasically everything was
depleted and Claudia Kadirreally spearheads that efforts
with some support from others,and we received such a good
feedback from the students, fromthe teachers, the principals,
that it used to be kids wereembarrassed to go grab something
(09:34):
because they felt like theywere less fortunate.
And now it's.
You know, you're walking downthe hall, you just grab it and
keep rolling and nobody has tofeel any certain way.
Chris (09:43):
Yeah, no attention.
You just grab what you need noone's going to question it and
you move on.
Matt (09:48):
And these are all wonderful things that you are
doing, what the PTA is doing andwhat our business partnerships
are doing what fosters thatstrong relationship between
y'all and the schools?
Chris Crouch (10:01):
Well, I mean I'll take my business out of it.
I'll say, just through me andDr Cotton and the foundation,
he's very open about what thoseneeds are and he's open to
different ideas.
So I'll say eight years ago thefoundation kind of had a
different purpose.
When I first came on it wasmore capital-based and we were
(10:22):
replacing chalkboards.
And I'm sitting there scratchingmy head, saying this isn't what
we want to do, this isn't goingto make the impact.
And soon after that Dr Cottonwas hired as the superintendent
and I had a conversation withhim I was actually the vice
chair at the time and we wereboth in agreement that we wanted
to maximize the dollars to makean impact on our teachers and
(10:43):
students.
So we got out of that capitalpiece and I took a little bit of
heat for that, because therewere some people that were past
board members that were like no,this is what we do.
And I had a lot of meetings, alot of coffee breaks, a lot of
lunches explaining our purposeto these business partners.
And now everybody's on boardthat the things that we're able
(11:05):
to do, from the grants to theteachers of the year, to you
name it.
So I would say the opencommunication that we have with
Dr Cotton we kind of have thatshared vision of what is needed
for success for these teachersand students.
Matt (11:18):
And you've been a part of the strategic plan moving
forward with our school system.
Right, You're on Empower 2025and you're also on the Empower
2031, right.
Chris Crouch (11:27):
I am.
Yeah, it really hit me how oldI'm getting.
Sean Murphy (11:30):
You have a five-year plan and you see it
through and now you're re-up foranother five years.
Chris Crouch (11:34):
So, yeah, and we just had our.
Actually it was our secondsession a couple of weeks ago.
A lot of great minds in theschool system.
As a parent with again withthree boys, to see the minds
that work in that room is justvery impressive, and I know that
all the kids and teachers arein good hands.
Chris (11:52):
The three of you serve in different roles and work with
the schools in different ways.
From your perspective, what doyou think are some of the
challenges now we face in theschools and how do you think we
can overcome them?
DeShonna (12:03):
Wow, Well, I mean the biggest challenge with
everything is funding.
That is just.
I mean, everybody here at thetable we're giving and we're
doing and you're raising money,but it's never enough and it's
like every time you think, okay,we've got this nailed down.
Something else happens, like,for instance, we have a shoe
fund for the PTA and it is aquiet, quiet program, meaning if
(12:28):
a child is in the building andthey need new shoes, the
guidance counselor or theprincipal reach out to us and
then we quietly send them a giftcard.
Nobody knows, like we don'teven know who the student is.
It is a, this is what we need,we just need $50 or whatever and
we just send it.
But we don't want to know whothe student is, because it's
(12:51):
none of our business.
But we try to help everybody.
So we have that in and, ofcourse, mainly it's the primary
you know, the primary schoolsthat we get the request from.
So we're always looking forfunding for the, for our shoe
fund.
And then we do have a safe fundand the safe fund is where we
take care of, like, triple C andthose schools that don't have
(13:13):
PTAs.
So we try to do something forthe students and the staff there
staff appreciation week ordoing something you know for the
holidays, sending them littlecookies or just whatever,
because they have a hard job andthere's a lack of support of
parents in the building.
So you know you want to makethem feel like every other
teacher in the building, butit's for me, for us, it's
(13:37):
funding well, I don't have a kidin the school yet you have one
on the way.
Sean Murphy (13:42):
One on the way, august 11th, so future hopefully
grizzly, we'll see where wemove to we're great bridge
district now, but I don't knowabout the wildcats wait, uh,
hold on.
Matt (13:52):
Yeah, we're gonna start.
Got to be careful.
Who went in a fight?
A Grizzly or a Wildcat?
Come on, I don't know man,wildcats, they're scrappy True.
Sean Murphy (14:02):
That's a great question.
I'm just for an example to plugthe Rotary.
We do a lot as well, not reallywith tandem.
With CepCep, we do donate moneyback and forth a lot, which is
great.
We have a really goodpartnership with one another.
But another disparity we'reseeing a lot of, which is very
odd, especially in Chesapeake.
We're a very wealthy city andwe have a lot of do-gooders out.
(14:22):
There is this Thursday we'reloading up backpacks with a lot
of food at BM Williams 450 to beexact for kids to take home
over the weekend.
Because somebody found outthere's a slew of kids at BM
Williams going home hungry overthe weekend and they don't have
anything there, and so we reallyspearheaded that to take that
(14:42):
up and say there should be nokids in Chesapeake going hungry
the entire weekend.
So that could also fall back onfunding.
How is it that we could maybesupply food as a city over the
weekend to the kids?
Because you can imagine seven,eight years old going home empty
stomach over the weekend one ortwo meals.
I was a chubby husky seveneight-year-old so.
(15:05):
I can only imagine.
That.
Chris Crouch (15:07):
But he did not go without meals.
Sean Murphy (15:09):
Yeah, no, still don't.
But yeah, stuff like that, justreally finding needs in the
community, especially at theschool and the individual child
level.
That's really the shortfallsI'm seeing being involved with
all these differentorganizations.
Chris (15:23):
So looking outside, the classroom walls really to fill
some of those needs.
How about you, Chris?
Chris Crouch (15:28):
Yeah, I mean, I think the obvious piece is the
students, but another piece thatI really see is their
recruitment and retention ofteachers.
You know less and less arepursuing those degrees.
So we've taken it upon thefoundation to really support Dr
Cotton and all the principals.
We've given out gift cards toteachers that have been
(15:48):
recognized by their peers andthat was really fun to go into
the schools and do those things.
But looking for ways to makeChesapeake that premier
destination for graduates tocome back here after they've
gone out to whatever collegethey go to, come back here and
work, make sure that they'restaying here, just really kind
of growing that base.
So my firm we design schools.
(16:10):
We're the third largesteducational designer in the mid
Atlantic.
So I'm in a lot of differentschool districts, I'm in a lot
of different schools and thethings that are going on at
Chesapeake are really impressive.
And kudos to Chris, chris Vailon telling that story.
And if you've seen the state ofthe schools over the last
(16:30):
couple of years, they do areally good job of not just
recognizing the achievements ofthe students but really
recognizing the teachers, thejanitors, the principals, the
bus drivers, anybody.
It's really telling that storybecause there's great things
being accomplished at all levels.
Chris (16:47):
Yep, and it takes a community to create that level
of excellence that we do have inChesapeake Public Schools.
And what we're hearing frombusiness partners is the skill
sets have changed that areneeded for certain jobs.
So what might be with businesspartners here?
What might be some of thoseskill sets you're looking for in
graduates?
Chris Crouch (17:09):
Well, again I'm on the architectural side.
The technology, the AI, I mean.
That's going to change ourworld and many other worlds as
well.
So I know Dr Cotton's placed abig emphasis on STEM, but that
technology piece is going to behuge for these kids.
It's going to be completelydifferent when they're
graduating college to what we'refacing now.
(17:30):
How about?
Chris (17:30):
you, Sean, these high school students.
What skills should they comeout with and be ready?
Sean Murphy (17:35):
Get your face out of the phone.
Learn how to talk to people.
That's the biggest skill.
You can go really get anydegree you want, unless it's
gonna be very specific computerscience, ai, if you wanna be a
nurse.
If you get a basic vanillabusiness degree I got one it's
fine.
But just be personable, be ableto have those conversations
with people, look them in theeye and just talk to them, cause
(17:56):
that'll get you further in lifethan an MBA ever will.
So how about you DeshaunaAnything?
DeShonna (18:03):
I think, for us, honestly, it's two, it's two
pronged, it's time managementand it's wanting to give back,
because I know the students havea volunteer component for
graduation and so, like some ofthe events, we will ask, or you
know, hey, we'll write you thatvolunteer letter and then
they'll come, they'll sign up,and then they don't show up.
(18:23):
So when we are dependent uponoh, we had 20 volunteers, well,
10 of them showed up.
So you know, it's timemanagement and the commitment
that you are choosing, and Ithink that would probably go
into what you were talking about, because you want people to
come back, but they need to seeus, so they, so they see it that
(18:45):
, ok, it's cool for me to comeback, I'm seeing these adults.
Sean Murphy (18:49):
You know exactly.
DeShonna (18:50):
But the adults have to have the time and make the time
to talk to the kids and do thethings, and so it's that's a
full circle, exactly.
But the adults have to have thetime and make the time to talk
to the kids and do the things,and so that's a full circle
moment.
Sean Murphy (18:58):
Exactly.
You're not too cool to comeback, and if you come back, it
doesn't mean you failed.
Correct it just means I'm readyto be back in the community
that helped raise me andactually give back.
DeShonna (19:08):
So it's okay because I'm adjacent, because I grew up
in Suffolk.
Matt (19:11):
See, that's okay, I'm adjacent, but you're here now,
which is what matters.
DeShonna (19:16):
Exactly.
Matt (19:18):
So for the parents that are listening, the parents that
are not in the PTA yet, or forthe parents and the community
members that want to getinvolved, how do they do that?
What's the best route?
Like from a PTA perspective?
What would you say is the bestway?
Hey, let's get you involved.
What should we do?
DeShonna (19:35):
Go through your local school.
Most of the dues are $5, $6.
I mean, some are $10.
But go through your localschool and people have to
remember that there's always aneed and I always say that there
are three types of volunteers.
You have the one, like me, thatwe are in the building, we're
always there, we do everything.
(19:56):
And you have those parents thatshow up to events and then they
do that and that's all thatthey do.
And then you have the ones thatjust pay their dues.
All three are great.
There is no PTA level betterthan the other, because, even if
they just join, we have a powerof numbers.
Matt (20:15):
And what are some of those numbers that you were
mentioning?
DeShonna (20:17):
We are almost 11,000 strong here.
In Chesapeake we had a goal of12.
We're a little shy, but it'snot too late.
Chris (20:26):
It's never too late.
It is never too late, so youcan sign up at any time, not
just at the beginning of theyear.
DeShonna (20:32):
Our fiscal year ends June 30th.
Anytime, not just at thebeginning of the year.
Our fiscal year ends June 30th,so we will take your $5 or
$6.50 or however much your localschool charges up and through
June 30th.
Chris (20:40):
And how involved you want to be.
It's up to you.
DeShonna (20:43):
And it doesn't matter.
We just need your money, weneed your membership.
I'll click that up, but yeah.
Chris (20:50):
What do businesses if they're looking to get involved
in the school?
What are some of the thingsthey could do?
Sean Murphy (20:54):
Yeah, well, one thing that we partner with the
schools.
We do something called Striveover at Indian River High School
.
It's a monthly kind of a class.
It's where the top 25 studentswho've brought their GPA up the
most get to come enjoy a littlebreakfast Sometimes it's
Chick-fil-A donuts and then abusiness member from the
community will come in and kindof just give them a spiel on
(21:17):
what it is they do, how they gotstarted.
I do that once a year.
I wish I could do it more, butthey try to get some diversity
in there.
But just go in, tell them aboutthe stock market, things like
that.
So really, if you want to getinvolved as a business owner,
just with your business, it'skind of like a career day.
You go in, you give a 30-minutetalk to the students, answer
some questions, engage with them, get them to know what careers
(21:40):
there are out there, and that'sa good first step.
And from there you can kind ofcatapult yourself into being
more involved with theeducational foundation, pta.
I don't know if you take onbusiness sponsorships.
DeShonna (21:50):
We do there you go.
Chris Crouch (21:52):
We do See.
Yeah, I would say you know,reach out to Andrea Vail.
She's the director ofengagement.
That was a smart strategic movethat Dr Cotton made to tie the
two positions the executivedirector of the Ed Foundation,
director of engagement sameperson.
So you know she knows what'sneeded on both sides, just like
when I started, I didn't knowwhat I wanted to do, but I knew
(22:14):
I wanted to do something andstarted talking with her and
it's evolved.
It's not just the finances.
Yes, we want to have people doa sponsorship and support the
events, but we're looking formentors, we're looking for
people to actually go into theschools.
So there's a variety of things.
So if you're looking forsomething and you don't know
(22:34):
what you can do, but you knowyou want to do something, I
would start with Andrea.
She's a wealth of knowledge ofwhat the school needs.
Matt (22:40):
We have our State of the Schools, where we celebrate our
partnerships with businesses,with our PTAs and we let those
(23:03):
community members in to showthem all the great things that
we're doing at Chesapeake PublicSchools, and we also want to
remind our listeners to attendthe PTA's annual dinner held on
May 7th at Oscar Smith High at 6pm.
Tickets are found on theirwebsite and I've loved having
this conversation.
We're hearing about the actualevents and what that money goes
to and how specifically the PTAis in the schools and supporting
whatever need that could be.
(23:24):
I hope our community getsanother peek at what is
happening with our schools.
We hope you enjoyed the storiesbehind our story on this
episode of amplify thechesapeake public schools
podcast.
Feel free to visit us atcpschoolscom forward slash
amplified for any questions orcomments and make sure to follow
(23:46):
us wherever you get yourpodcasts.
Bye.
Welcome to Amplify the Chesapeake Public Schools
podcast.
Chris (00:13):
Chesapeake Public Schools is located in the Hampton Roads
region of southeastern Virginia.
We proudly serve over 40,000students in 45 schools and three
centers.
Join us as we share the storiesbehind our story by celebrating
the people and programs thatmake us one of the premier
school districts in Virginia.
Matt (00:32):
Hey listeners, this is Matt Graham here with Chris Bale
, and today is our 20th episodehere on Amplify the Chesapeake
Public Schools podcast.
Chris (00:43):
Matt, we're going stronger than ever.
Matt (00:45):
now that is absolutely correct.
And on this 20th episode wehave a special topic and it's
all about our communitypartnerships.
Chris (00:55):
We really are pulling back the curtain on this one.
We get the president ofChesapeake Council PTA, the
board chair for the ChesapeakeEducational Foundation and a
member.
Matt (01:06):
Listeners.
I hope you tune in and listento the positive impact that they
are making in our schools.
Welcome to the podcast.
Can each of you take a momentand introduce yourself and maybe
share a little bit about howyou're connected with Chesapeake
Public Schools?
DeShonna (01:25):
My name DeShonna Brown Brown.
I am the president of theChesapeake Council of PTAs.
Sean Murphy (01:35):
My name is Sean Murphy.
I am a financial advisor withEdward Jones and I'm on the
board of directors for theEducational Foundation Proud
Grassfield Grizzly class of 2013.
Born and raised in Chesapeake,moved away to Maryland for a
couple of years, but Chesapeakeis really good at sucking us
back.
Chris Crouch (01:48):
So here I am, and I am Chris Crouch.
I am a principal at RRMMArchitects here in Chesapeake
and I am the chair of theEducational Foundation.
Chris (02:03):
All right, so let's jump right in.
Why do you guys do what you dowith Chesapeake Public Schools?
What's your reasoning forgiving back?
DeShonna (02:06):
Mine were purely personal.
My son started in ChesapeakePublic Schools when he was two
years old and I was nervous asall get out.
My two-year-old was starting inone of the preschool programs
and I come from a family ofeducators.
I was a stay-at-home mom.
I needed to be near my son, soI joined the PTA.
Chris (02:29):
I think that first time you send your child off to
school I don't care, I'm a dad Iwas nervous and you want to be
involved and you want to knowwhat's going on in the school
right.
DeShonna (02:39):
It was my way of wiggling myself into the school.
Chris (02:42):
And what a great way to do it too.
How about you, Sean?
Sean Murphy (02:46):
My background is my mom actually taught special ed
at Great Bridge Middle.
Even before I was born,chesapeake Public Schools has
kind of been a thing for me.
Again, the way I got involvedwas Chesapeake gave me a lot
growing up, so the most I coulddo is really just tap back in
when I was called upon by Chrisand your beautiful wife Andrea
(03:06):
to join the board and reallyit's just been a good way to
reconnect and start to give backnow that I'm a little bit older
and wiser.
Chris Crouch (03:14):
Yeah, I was the same.
I have three boys.
I put my first one on the busat Cedar Road and you know, up
to that point our company hadalways stroked a check to
Chesapeake Schools but we neverreally were engaged and involved
.
So I was actually at the stateof the schools and I was just
seeing ways that we could getinvolved and I texted Andrea and
(03:36):
I said, hey, I'm in, whateveryou need, and she put me on a
golf tournament and then kind of, the rest is history.
Steve Best said you're not justdoing golf tournaments, you're
going to be on the foundation.
Matt (03:45):
You're mentioning the Chesapeake Public Schools
Educational Foundation.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about what that is Sure?
Chris Crouch (03:52):
So it's evolved over the last eight years or so.
But really what we try to do isbridge that gap that exists,
whether it's funding, whetherit's the mentorships that we try
and draw people in.
You know, I always telleverybody that it's not just the
money piece, it's thementorship, it's the knowledge
that you can provide to thesestudents, to these teachers.
Sometimes it's just resources.
(04:13):
We have a lot of businessesthat are growing, they're
changing and a lot of time weget donations just from surplus
that these teachers need,because kids are coming to
school without pencils or thingslike that.
So really we exist to bridgethe gaps and we lean on Dr
Cotton and his team to tell us,hey, we could really use this or
we could use that, and then wego out and we try and make that
(04:36):
happen.
Chris (04:37):
Deshauna with the PTA.
What a big undertaking that is.
So do you want to talk aboutsome of the work that your group
does with the schools?
DeShonna (04:46):
Absolutely.
We do all kinds of enrichmentprograms for the students.
We just finished theReflections program, so we had
106 entries and then, once wejudge them and they go to the
state level, we actuallysubmitted 27 of our 106.
The state level we actuallysubmitted 27 of our 106.
(05:06):
We had 16 to place and then wehad four to actually win state
and they're going on to nationaland when they go to national
they actually can win prizes andall kinds of things and it's
just.
It's a great opportunity for thestudents.
They can do art, they can dofilm, they can do dance.
It just lets them expressthemselves and there are no
(05:27):
boundaries put on them.
So we actually in the PTAs,between all of us, all the
schools, we actually offer$30,000 in scholarship money
every year.
So we have a list on ourwebsite.
We encourage everybody to go,all the students.
We have middle schools thatoffer scholarships.
(05:48):
We're in the schools, whetherit's trying to help boost morale
, doing stuff for the teachers.
I know one of the schoolscalled me yesterday.
They're buying a book for everystudent for SOLs.
So we really try to againbridge the gap, just like you
guys do, and just be the bootson the ground in the building.
Chris (06:10):
You guys are doing some amazing work, but I want to hear
about your biggest successstory, something that really
pulled at the heartstrings andyou're like this is why I'm
doing what I'm doing.
Chris Crouch (06:22):
COVID is probably an easy one for us to all look
back at and the impact that wehad.
We were flying by the seat ofour pants during that time and a
lot of it was going to virtualand Dr Cotton said, hey, we have
a lot of kids that don't haveInternet at home.
We're not going to be able toget this done without some type
of support.
And he actually asked us for$25,000.
(06:43):
And we asked him what thataccomplishes and he kind of gave
us a percentage and we cameback with $100,000 and said we
want to take care of everysingle kid.
So during COVID we gave themthe money to buy hotspots for
every kid that did not haveinternet at home and that
allowed them to stay engaged,stay connected throughout that
time period.
(07:03):
So that one really hit home theimpact that we can make.
Matt (07:09):
Another impact that you are making is through the care
spaces that are in our schools.
Sean, can you tell us a littlebit about that?
Sean Murphy (07:16):
That was kind of cool because, before I was even
on the Educational Foundation, Imoved back here in 2018.
And Ms Savoy, who was at OscarSmith High, got me connected
with them, tutoring a lot of thestudents during the day, and it
was really cool because you gotto hear the stories from
everybody and you got to developa personal relationship with a
lot of the boys, girls, you know, and they were all at different
(07:38):
stages of life.
And hearing some of theirstories, you know, one girl
would wake up.
She had two little brothersthey lived with their
grandparents, had to take themto school.
Then, guess what?
She went and did a four or fivehour shift at cookout right
after school.
Right back to doing what shewas doing waking up, feeding the
kids, getting them to school.
She was playing pseudo mom and16, 17,.
(08:01):
That's crazy.
So seeing all of that and thenseeing us be able to do these
care closets, it's.
I mean, I don't have kids, I'mnot doing anything crazy now,
but I forget stuff in themorning to brush my teeth or
throw deodorant on.
Matt (08:17):
It happens.
Life is hectic.
Sean Murphy (08:18):
But to have that there for somebody like that who
they're growing up but they'rehaving to grow up with their
brothers and sisters at the sametime but have that role model
and just really leader of thehouse mentality, just putting
something small there for themthat if they forgot it they can
just go snag it really quick.
Chris (08:35):
Yeah, I think that's one of the things maybe our
community members don'tunderstand.
You know, you think pencil, youthink paper, you think
Chromebook now.
But if that student's coming toschool without deodorant,
without the toothbrush, justsimple things, they're not going
to be comfortable in class,they're not going to have that
ability to sit down and learn.
So I know, especially in someof our less fortunate areas,
(08:59):
those care spaces have meant alot to those schools and they go
through a lot of items.
So you as foundation members,part of that job is trying to
get business partners toreplenish some of those harder
to find items.
Chris Crouch (09:13):
Yeah, when we first started it, I don't think
we realized how big it was goingto be.
We started getting calls thatbasically everything was
depleted and Claudia Kadirreally spearheads that efforts
with some support from others,and we received such a good
feedback from the students, fromthe teachers, the principals,
that it used to be kids wereembarrassed to go grab something
(09:34):
because they felt like theywere less fortunate.
And now it's.
You know, you're walking downthe hall, you just grab it and
keep rolling and nobody has tofeel any certain way.
Chris (09:43):
Yeah, no attention.
You just grab what you need noone's going to question it and
you move on.
Matt (09:48):
And these are all wonderful things that you are
doing, what the PTA is doing andwhat our business partnerships
are doing what fosters thatstrong relationship between
y'all and the schools?
Chris Crouch (10:01):
Well, I mean I'll take my business out of it.
I'll say, just through me andDr Cotton and the foundation,
he's very open about what thoseneeds are and he's open to
different ideas.
So I'll say eight years ago thefoundation kind of had a
different purpose.
When I first came on it wasmore capital-based and we were
(10:22):
replacing chalkboards.
And I'm sitting there scratchingmy head, saying this isn't what
we want to do, this isn't goingto make the impact.
And soon after that Dr Cottonwas hired as the superintendent
and I had a conversation withhim I was actually the vice
chair at the time and we wereboth in agreement that we wanted
to maximize the dollars to makean impact on our teachers and
(10:43):
students.
So we got out of that capitalpiece and I took a little bit of
heat for that, because therewere some people that were past
board members that were like no,this is what we do.
And I had a lot of meetings, alot of coffee breaks, a lot of
lunches explaining our purposeto these business partners.
And now everybody's on boardthat the things that we're able
(11:05):
to do, from the grants to theteachers of the year, to you
name it.
So I would say the opencommunication that we have with
Dr Cotton we kind of have thatshared vision of what is needed
for success for these teachersand students.
Matt (11:18):
And you've been a part of the strategic plan moving
forward with our school system.
Right, You're on Empower 2025and you're also on the Empower
2031, right.
Chris Crouch (11:27):
I am.
Yeah, it really hit me how oldI'm getting.
Sean Murphy (11:30):
You have a five-year plan and you see it
through and now you're re-up foranother five years.
Chris Crouch (11:34):
So, yeah, and we just had our.
Actually it was our secondsession a couple of weeks ago.
A lot of great minds in theschool system.
As a parent with again withthree boys, to see the minds
that work in that room is justvery impressive, and I know that
all the kids and teachers arein good hands.
Chris (11:52):
The three of you serve in different roles and work with
the schools in different ways.
From your perspective, what doyou think are some of the
challenges now we face in theschools and how do you think we
can overcome them?
DeShonna (12:03):
Wow, Well, I mean the biggest challenge with
everything is funding.
That is just.
I mean, everybody here at thetable we're giving and we're
doing and you're raising money,but it's never enough and it's
like every time you think, okay,we've got this nailed down.
Something else happens, like,for instance, we have a shoe
fund for the PTA and it is aquiet, quiet program, meaning if
(12:28):
a child is in the building andthey need new shoes, the
guidance counselor or theprincipal reach out to us and
then we quietly send them a giftcard.
Nobody knows, like we don'teven know who the student is.
It is a, this is what we need,we just need $50 or whatever and
we just send it.
But we don't want to know whothe student is, because it's
(12:51):
none of our business.
But we try to help everybody.
So we have that in and, ofcourse, mainly it's the primary
you know, the primary schoolsthat we get the request from.
So we're always looking forfunding for the, for our shoe
fund.
And then we do have a safe fundand the safe fund is where we
take care of, like, triple C andthose schools that don't have
(13:13):
PTAs.
So we try to do something forthe students and the staff there
staff appreciation week ordoing something you know for the
holidays, sending them littlecookies or just whatever,
because they have a hard job andthere's a lack of support of
parents in the building.
So you know you want to makethem feel like every other
teacher in the building, butit's for me, for us, it's
(13:37):
funding well, I don't have a kidin the school yet you have one
on the way.
Sean Murphy (13:42):
One on the way, august 11th, so future hopefully
grizzly, we'll see where wemove to we're great bridge
district now, but I don't knowabout the wildcats wait, uh,
hold on.
Matt (13:52):
Yeah, we're gonna start.
Got to be careful.
Who went in a fight?
A Grizzly or a Wildcat?
Come on, I don't know man,wildcats, they're scrappy True.
Sean Murphy (14:02):
That's a great question.
I'm just for an example to plugthe Rotary.
We do a lot as well, not reallywith tandem.
With CepCep, we do donate moneyback and forth a lot, which is
great.
We have a really goodpartnership with one another.
But another disparity we'reseeing a lot of, which is very
odd, especially in Chesapeake.
We're a very wealthy city andwe have a lot of do-gooders out.
(14:22):
There is this Thursday we'reloading up backpacks with a lot
of food at BM Williams 450 to beexact for kids to take home
over the weekend.
Because somebody found outthere's a slew of kids at BM
Williams going home hungry overthe weekend and they don't have
anything there, and so we reallyspearheaded that to take that
(14:42):
up and say there should be nokids in Chesapeake going hungry
the entire weekend.
So that could also fall back onfunding.
How is it that we could maybesupply food as a city over the
weekend to the kids?
Because you can imagine seven,eight years old going home empty
stomach over the weekend one ortwo meals.
I was a chubby husky seveneight-year-old so.
(15:05):
I can only imagine.
That.
Chris Crouch (15:07):
But he did not go without meals.
Sean Murphy (15:09):
Yeah, no, still don't.
But yeah, stuff like that, justreally finding needs in the
community, especially at theschool and the individual child
level.
That's really the shortfallsI'm seeing being involved with
all these differentorganizations.
Chris (15:23):
So looking outside, the classroom walls really to fill
some of those needs.
How about you, Chris?
Chris Crouch (15:28):
Yeah, I mean, I think the obvious piece is the
students, but another piece thatI really see is their
recruitment and retention ofteachers.
You know less and less arepursuing those degrees.
So we've taken it upon thefoundation to really support Dr
Cotton and all the principals.
We've given out gift cards toteachers that have been
(15:48):
recognized by their peers andthat was really fun to go into
the schools and do those things.
But looking for ways to makeChesapeake that premier
destination for graduates tocome back here after they've
gone out to whatever collegethey go to, come back here and
work, make sure that they'restaying here, just really kind
of growing that base.
So my firm we design schools.
(16:10):
We're the third largesteducational designer in the mid
Atlantic.
So I'm in a lot of differentschool districts, I'm in a lot
of different schools and thethings that are going on at
Chesapeake are really impressive.
And kudos to Chris, chris Vailon telling that story.
And if you've seen the state ofthe schools over the last
(16:30):
couple of years, they do areally good job of not just
recognizing the achievements ofthe students but really
recognizing the teachers, thejanitors, the principals, the
bus drivers, anybody.
It's really telling that storybecause there's great things
being accomplished at all levels.
Chris (16:47):
Yep, and it takes a community to create that level
of excellence that we do have inChesapeake Public Schools.
And what we're hearing frombusiness partners is the skill
sets have changed that areneeded for certain jobs.
So what might be with businesspartners here?
What might be some of thoseskill sets you're looking for in
graduates?
Chris Crouch (17:09):
Well, again I'm on the architectural side.
The technology, the AI, I mean.
That's going to change ourworld and many other worlds as
well.
So I know Dr Cotton's placed abig emphasis on STEM, but that
technology piece is going to behuge for these kids.
It's going to be completelydifferent when they're
graduating college to what we'refacing now.
(17:30):
How about?
Chris (17:30):
you, Sean, these high school students.
What skills should they comeout with and be ready?
Sean Murphy (17:35):
Get your face out of the phone.
Learn how to talk to people.
That's the biggest skill.
You can go really get anydegree you want, unless it's
gonna be very specific computerscience, ai, if you wanna be a
nurse.
If you get a basic vanillabusiness degree I got one it's
fine.
But just be personable, be ableto have those conversations
with people, look them in theeye and just talk to them, cause
(17:56):
that'll get you further in lifethan an MBA ever will.
So how about you DeshaunaAnything?
DeShonna (18:03):
I think, for us, honestly, it's two, it's two
pronged, it's time managementand it's wanting to give back,
because I know the students havea volunteer component for
graduation and so, like some ofthe events, we will ask, or you
know, hey, we'll write you thatvolunteer letter and then
they'll come, they'll sign up,and then they don't show up.
(18:23):
So when we are dependent uponoh, we had 20 volunteers, well,
10 of them showed up.
So you know, it's timemanagement and the commitment
that you are choosing, and Ithink that would probably go
into what you were talking about, because you want people to
come back, but they need to seeus, so they, so they see it that
(18:45):
, ok, it's cool for me to comeback, I'm seeing these adults.
Sean Murphy (18:49):
You know exactly.
DeShonna (18:50):
But the adults have to have the time and make the time
to talk to the kids and do thethings, and so it's that's a
full circle, exactly.
But the adults have to have thetime and make the time to talk
to the kids and do the things,and so that's a full circle
moment.
Sean Murphy (18:58):
Exactly.
You're not too cool to comeback, and if you come back, it
doesn't mean you failed.
Correct it just means I'm readyto be back in the community
that helped raise me andactually give back.
DeShonna (19:08):
So it's okay because I'm adjacent, because I grew up
in Suffolk.
Matt (19:11):
See, that's okay, I'm adjacent, but you're here now,
which is what matters.
DeShonna (19:16):
Exactly.
Matt (19:18):
So for the parents that are listening, the parents that
are not in the PTA yet, or forthe parents and the community
members that want to getinvolved, how do they do that?
What's the best route?
Like from a PTA perspective?
What would you say is the bestway?
Hey, let's get you involved.
What should we do?
DeShonna (19:35):
Go through your local school.
Most of the dues are $5, $6.
I mean, some are $10.
But go through your localschool and people have to
remember that there's always aneed and I always say that there
are three types of volunteers.
You have the one, like me, thatwe are in the building, we're
always there, we do everything.
(19:56):
And you have those parents thatshow up to events and then they
do that and that's all thatthey do.
And then you have the ones thatjust pay their dues.
All three are great.
There is no PTA level betterthan the other, because, even if
they just join, we have a powerof numbers.
Matt (20:15):
And what are some of those numbers that you were
mentioning?
DeShonna (20:17):
We are almost 11,000 strong here.
In Chesapeake we had a goal of12.
We're a little shy, but it'snot too late.
Chris (20:26):
It's never too late.
It is never too late, so youcan sign up at any time, not
just at the beginning of theyear.
DeShonna (20:32):
Our fiscal year ends June 30th.
Anytime, not just at thebeginning of the year.
Our fiscal year ends June 30th,so we will take your $5 or
$6.50 or however much your localschool charges up and through
June 30th.
Chris (20:40):
And how involved you want to be.
It's up to you.
DeShonna (20:43):
And it doesn't matter.
We just need your money, weneed your membership.
I'll click that up, but yeah.
Chris (20:50):
What do businesses if they're looking to get involved
in the school?
What are some of the thingsthey could do?
Sean Murphy (20:54):
Yeah, well, one thing that we partner with the
schools.
We do something called Striveover at Indian River High School
.
It's a monthly kind of a class.
It's where the top 25 studentswho've brought their GPA up the
most get to come enjoy a littlebreakfast Sometimes it's
Chick-fil-A donuts and then abusiness member from the
community will come in and kindof just give them a spiel on
(21:17):
what it is they do, how they gotstarted.
I do that once a year.
I wish I could do it more, butthey try to get some diversity
in there.
But just go in, tell them aboutthe stock market, things like
that.
So really, if you want to getinvolved as a business owner,
just with your business, it'skind of like a career day.
You go in, you give a 30-minutetalk to the students, answer
some questions, engage with them, get them to know what careers
(21:40):
there are out there, and that'sa good first step.
And from there you can kind ofcatapult yourself into being
more involved with theeducational foundation, pta.
I don't know if you take onbusiness sponsorships.
DeShonna (21:50):
We do there you go.
Chris Crouch (21:52):
We do See.
Yeah, I would say you know,reach out to Andrea Vail.
She's the director ofengagement.
That was a smart strategic movethat Dr Cotton made to tie the
two positions the executivedirector of the Ed Foundation,
director of engagement sameperson.
So you know she knows what'sneeded on both sides, just like
when I started, I didn't knowwhat I wanted to do, but I knew
(22:14):
I wanted to do something andstarted talking with her and
it's evolved.
It's not just the finances.
Yes, we want to have people doa sponsorship and support the
events, but we're looking formentors, we're looking for
people to actually go into theschools.
So there's a variety of things.
So if you're looking forsomething and you don't know
(22:34):
what you can do, but you knowyou want to do something, I
would start with Andrea.
She's a wealth of knowledge ofwhat the school needs.
Matt (22:40):
We have our State of the Schools, where we celebrate our
partnerships with businesses,with our PTAs and we let those
(23:03):
community members in to showthem all the great things that
we're doing at Chesapeake PublicSchools, and we also want to
remind our listeners to attendthe PTA's annual dinner held on
May 7th at Oscar Smith High at 6pm.
Tickets are found on theirwebsite and I've loved having
this conversation.
We're hearing about the actualevents and what that money goes
to and how specifically the PTAis in the schools and supporting
whatever need that could be.
(23:24):
I hope our community getsanother peek at what is
happening with our schools.
We hope you enjoyed the storiesbehind our story on this
episode of amplify thechesapeake public schools
podcast.
Feel free to visit us atcpschoolscom forward slash
amplified for any questions orcomments and make sure to follow
(23:46):
us wherever you get yourpodcasts.
Bye.
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