Latest news with #KathleenBrown
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Over 100 people address Virginia Beach School Board in meeting outlining DEI removal
Virginia Beach's School Board unveiled its first steps on Tuesday night to remove diversity, equity and inclusion policies from its schools. Though no program offerings, clubs or special education plans have been halted since the board approved an anti-DEI resolution on April 8, the division has suspended the educational equity policy and equity dashboard. It tracked student achievement of vulnerable students, until further review. After the last board meeting, Superintendent Donald Robertson and division leadership got to work on reviewing hiring practices, program offerings and the division's strategic plans to put them in compliance. The federal Department of Education put out a notice on April 3 calling schools to certify that they weren't using DEI, lest they lose federal funding. The division currently receives around $74 million from the federal government, said Board Chair Kathleen Brown. Though other school divisions have certified in compliance with federal guidelines, Virginia Beach was the first in Hampton Roads to draft a resolution. The division is in the beginning stages of tweaking their policies, mainly removing content, such as the Department of DEI webpage and references to the current 2025 strategic plan, from schools and online. The content has to be reviewed by the Policy Review Committee. Chief of Staff Cheryl Woodhouse said some school programs are believed to be in compliance, such as Beach Girls Rock, a female empowerment program, and the Making Waves Mentoring Program, which pairs students with staff to mentor them. Other programs, namely the African American Male Summit and the Equity Council, are still being reviewed and might have to be altered or renamed. The criticism of the board's handling of the resolution continued Tuesday night. Board member David Culpepper drafted and sent it to the board the day before their vote. Two board members weren't present at the previous meeting due to personal reasons. 'This resolution to suspend the division's DEI policy was passed in silence, without a hearing, without an impact study and without a single student voice being heard,' said board member Sharon Felt, who didn't attend the April 8 meeting. Robertson and other board members argued that due to the compressed timeline imposed by federal authorities, they had to act quickly. 'Frankly I'm surprised that everybody on this dais didn't feel a sense of urgency for the school board to weigh in on this issue,' said Culpepper. Virginia Beach's NAACP organized a town hall meeting on April 14 to discuss the impact of DEI programs and rallied speakers to express dissent. The Virginia Beach Education Association, also encouraged speakers to attend the meeting. In total, 113 people, including 10 students, signed up to speak. The public was split on their decision, some speaking in favor of DEI and others defending the board's decision in the wake of losing federal funding. Students accused them of perpetuating partisanship and placing money over students' feelings. Educators, parents and former school board members expressed concern and confusion about potential program changes to clubs and academies. Many continued to criticize the board for voting for the resolution without public comment. 'Your actions clearly show that you don't really care how your constituents feel on this issue,' said Heather Sipe, VBEA president. Those opposed to DEI asserted that it was eroding merit based success for students and was pushing 'woke' politics into the classroom. They said that the policies were exasperating differences between students instead of celebrating individual achievement. 'These three words, diversity, equity and inclusion are the essential elements of DEI and are not pure but are linked together corrosively in a destructive political propaganda formula,' attendee Paula Chang told the board.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
VB school board gets earful on DEI decision
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It has been a long, simmering battle over diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools, and Tuesday, the Virginia Beach School Board got an earful from a standing room only crowd, many of them students, about its previous decision to suspend what has become a controversial policy. VB board adopts resolution to suspend DEI initiatives The meeting was the first for the board since it adopted the resolution, and 113 people signed up to speak on all sides of the issue, from former educators to community members. But those who spoke up the most? Students from Virginia Beach City Public Schools. The resolution passed stated that it is 'to comply with legal obligations in exchange for receiving federal financial assistance.' In the meeting, School Board Chairwoman Kathleen J. Brown said VBCPS gets $74,285,975 in federal funding. K-12 schools must sign certification against DEI to receive federal money, administration says 'No matter what side you're on, we want to hear everyone,' said Virginia Beach School Board chairwoman Kathleen Brown. And they made their voices heard on a decision that has received close scrutiny. 'They just kind of see the effects and how passing something in secret like this won't fly, and we'll call them out for it,' said First Colonial High School student Hattie Friedman. Friedman does not want to lose DEI programs at school, saying it puts certain students at a disadvantage. Another First Colonial student, Bryce Deatley, speaking in support of DEI, said some students are only able to be their true selves at school. 'Some people have to hide their self who they are at home,' Deatley said, 'and sometimes school is their only place where they can be who they are.' The board listened to both sides of this debate for hours. Many didn't like the swift manner in which the resolution was adopted, while others said the resolution is unclear on just exactly what programs will be cut. 10 On Your Side asked school board members about the decision. 'As you can see, everybody's got ample opportunity to comment,' said District 8 board member David Culpepper. Said board member Dr. Alveta Green: 'I don't know if this is going to lead to an expulsion of the policy where everything is completely removed.' Some are praising the suspension of DEI initiatives, but others disagree. 'DEI, I feel it's very destructive,' said Virginia Beach resident Teresa Langille. 'To me, it's a form that could lead to Marxism.' The decision to suspend DEI initiatives within Virginia Beach City Public Schools still stands, as board members continue to hear from the community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
TECHx
19-03-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Proofpoint and Microsoft Team Up to Enhance Security with AI and Cloud Integration News Desk - 19/03/2025 ShareProofpoint Inc., a cybersecurity and compliance solutions firm, has expanded its global partnership with Microsoft to strengthen AI-powered threat protection and data security. By leveraging Microsoft Azure's advanced AI capabilities and trusted cloud infrastructure, the companies aim to host Proofpoint's future innovations, providing organizations worldwide with enhanced threat protection, improved operational efficiency, and scalable security solutions. This collaboration will empower organizations to proactively detect and mitigate a wide range of threats targeting people and their data.The expanded partnership addresses the growing concern of human-centric cybersecurity risks, which were the leading cause of data breaches in 2023. With email, data loss, mis-delivery, insider threats, and misconfigurations accounting for 90% of reported breaches, this alliance focuses on delivering solutions that safeguard the most vulnerable layer in the cybersecurity ecosystem: the human layer.'Human-centric security enables secure digital workspaces, and for many enterprises, Microsoft is the digital environment of choice,' said Darren Lee, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Threat Protection Group at Proofpoint. 'By building on Microsoft Azure, we are offering advanced, preventive protection and giving organizations the tools they need to reduce human risk and succeed in their digital environment.'Kathleen Brown, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, highlighted that Azure is the preferred cloud platform for security vendors, providing the infrastructure needed to meet the evolving security requirements of modern businesses.The partnership will also drive scalable innovation by accelerating the development of new features across Proofpoint's human-centric security platform. These innovations will include faster threat detection, reduced operational complexity, and more effective risk mitigation. Proofpoint's human-centric platform, including Nexus intelligence technologies, will be hosted on Azure by the end of Q2 2025. Nexus combines sophisticated AI models, behavioral analysis, and cutting-edge threat intelligence to detect and neutralize risks before they can cause damage.In addition, Proofpoint's frictionless API integration with Microsoft 365 will provide customers with robust, scalable, and proactive solutions to combat modern threats. Organizations will benefit from advanced email security to defend against phishing, business email compromise, ransomware, and other targeted attacks. Enhanced data protection across Microsoft 365, lower operational costs, and protection against emerging risks from GenAI tools will further strengthen security posture.As cyber threats continue to evolve rapidly, Proofpoint and Microsoft are committed to providing interoperable solutions that allow security teams to transition from reactive to proactive, automated threat defense models. The partnership will include integrating Proofpoint's Nexus threat intelligence into Microsoft Sentinel via Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) SIEM APIs. This will help Sentinel customers incorporate Proofpoint's threat intelligence and data into their extended detection and response (XDR) workflows, providing faster incident response, richer insights, and better visibility into emerging threats.The expanded collaboration between Proofpoint and Microsoft is a significant step forward in strengthening cybersecurity for organizations worldwide, enabling them to better protect their people, data, and operations in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
Proofpoint and Microsoft Team Up to Enhance Security with AI and Cloud Integration Proofpoint Inc., a cybersecurity and compliance solutions firm, has expanded its global partnership with Microsoft to strengthen AI-powered threat protection and data security. By leveraging Microsoft Azure's advanced AI capabilities and trusted cloud infrastructure, the companies aim to host Proofpoint's future innovations, providing organizations worldwide with enhanced threat protection, improved operational efficiency, and scalable security solutions. This collaboration will empower organizations to proactively detect and mitigate a wide range of threats targeting people and their data. The expanded partnership addresses the growing concern of human-centric cybersecurity risks, which were the leading cause of data breaches in 2023. With email, data loss, mis-delivery, insider threats, and misconfigurations accounting for 90% of reported breaches, this alliance focuses on delivering solutions that safeguard the most vulnerable layer in the cybersecurity ecosystem: the human layer. 'Human-centric security enables secure digital workspaces, and for many enterprises, Microsoft is the digital environment of choice,' said Darren Lee, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Threat Protection Group at Proofpoint. 'By building on Microsoft Azure, we are offering advanced, preventive protection and giving organizations the tools they need to reduce human risk and succeed in their digital environment.' Kathleen Brown, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, highlighted that Azure is the preferred cloud platform for security vendors, providing the infrastructure needed to meet the evolving security requirements of modern businesses. The partnership will also drive scalable innovation by accelerating the development of new features across Proofpoint's human-centric security platform. These innovations will include faster threat detection, reduced operational complexity, and more effective risk mitigation. Proofpoint's human-centric platform, including Nexus intelligence technologies, will be hosted on Azure by the end of Q2 2025. Nexus combines sophisticated AI models, behavioral analysis, and cutting-edge threat intelligence to detect and neutralize risks before they can cause damage. In addition, Proofpoint's frictionless API integration with Microsoft 365 will provide customers with robust, scalable, and proactive solutions to combat modern threats. Organizations will benefit from advanced email security to defend against phishing, business email compromise, ransomware, and other targeted attacks. Enhanced data protection across Microsoft 365, lower operational costs, and protection against emerging risks from GenAI tools will further strengthen security posture. As cyber threats continue to evolve rapidly, Proofpoint and Microsoft are committed to providing interoperable solutions that allow security teams to transition from reactive to proactive, automated threat defense models. The partnership will include integrating Proofpoint's Nexus threat intelligence into Microsoft Sentinel via Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) SIEM APIs. This will help Sentinel customers incorporate Proofpoint's threat intelligence and data into their extended detection and response (XDR) workflows, providing faster incident response, richer insights, and better visibility into emerging threats. The expanded collaboration between Proofpoint and Microsoft is a significant step forward in strengthening cybersecurity for organizations worldwide, enabling them to better protect their people, data, and operations in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
