--------- Oh my god. meeting is now called to order. Roll call. Mr. R. All board members are in attendance. Thank you. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I under God, indivisible,
for all. >> As is our custom, I'll read the car school's mission statement. Carmel way schools will provide opportunities for all students to realize their potential in an everchanging world. First on our agenda this evening are presentations. Our first presentation
tonight is for perfect ACT and SAT scores. Mr. McDonald. Good evening. I'm De Mcdana, the director of counseling at Carmel High School. It is my privilege to recognize members of the class of 2026 who achieved the perfect score on the ACT or
SAT during their time at Carmel High School. As many of you know, the ACT is one of the standardized exams many students choose to take for college admissions purposes. The exam assesses skills in English, math, reading, and science with an optional writing section. Each each section is scored
from a 1 to 36 with a composite score and an average of the four subject scores. Achieving a perfect score, perfect 36 composite score on the ACT is a rare feat that signifies you have reached the very top of the testing
pool. Under the new 2526 ACT format, you must achieve an average of at least a 35.5 across the English reading and math sections. Because the ACT rounds to the nearest whole number, a 35.5 or higher rounds up to 36. That means you can score a 36, a
36 and a 35, or you can score a 36 across all four three sections received that perfect 36 composite. This can happen in one exam or across multiple exam attempts. Perfect 36 composite score is incredibly rare, placing a student in the top 0.25%
to.5% of all test takers across the world. I'm proud to recognize the following 10 students from Carmel High School's class of 2026 that achieved that perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT either on one test or through a super score.
If you want to go ahead and come down, you're invited for this purpose and we'll recognize each student. Our first student is Caitlyn Poe. J couple Diana Alan Jinsha Rupes
who are not able to be here tonight. Alison Shen Watson perfect score on the SAT. Oh, sorry. We're going to wait for your pictures. To achieve a perfect score on the SAT, a student must earn a total of 1,600. This
requires a flawless or near flawless performance across the entire exam, which is broken down into two main sections. math 800 top score and reading and writing a top 800 score. Achieving a perfect 1600 is exceptionally rare. Less than.1% of all test takers earn a
perfect score. To put this into perspective, out of roughly 1.2 to two million students who take the SAT annually, only about 500 to 1,000 students typically achieve a 1600. I'm proud to recognize the following student from Carmel High School's class of 2026
that achieved a perfect SAT score of 1600. That is Jackson Miller. Congratulations. Next uh presentation this evening, we will recognize the Carmel High School Cyber Hounds, the academic world quest team, and the mock trials team. So,
first up, our Carmel High School Cyber Hounds, and I will call out Carrie Anderson. >> Good evening, everyone. I am a proud head coach of the Carmel High School Cyberhound Cyber Patriot Competitive Cyber Security Team. Our organization
competes nationally through a series of online competitions in virtual operating systems and challenges to identify and correct cyber security vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services
through the Air and Space Forces Association Cyber Patriot. It is a national youth cyber defense competition. This year, over 4,700 high school and middle school teams from around the globe were registered.
We are proud to announce that we are the state champions for season 18. This is our sixth straight year winning in the platinum and the gold division. We also have established this year for the first time an all girls team
with our organization of 60 members. We are here tonight to recognize our senior competitors. So if you are here today and you are competitor for cyber patriot, will you please come on over here? When you say it in alphabetical order
alakada, Aiden Bro, Jacob Maza, Andra Mun, Sami, Ba Rup, Kula JJ Sable House,
Amerage Kumar Singh Erica Jiao. You have photos. You want to get up and take a photo. Shut up. Next, we're going to recognize the academic world quest team, Miss Alicia
Nun. I'm Alicia Mountain and I am lucky enough to be the sponsor of Academic World Quest, this amazing uh team. Uh they are one of four Carmel High School teams that competed in Indianapolis at the University of Indianapolis um in
February and this um amazing group of seniors amazing team and qualified for nationals that will be competing in Washington DC at the end of April for uh representing Indiana at the national competition. They're going to give come up and say a few words about what they
do with academic Uh hi. So, academic world quest is essentially a foreign affairs based trivia. There's a hundred questions and 10 different topics, current events. Uh it there the there's various topics about
different regions of the world, different industries and it just there's a lot to do with a whole bunch of topics that you know you don't typically get to explore through so traditional social studies curriculum. It's super cool. We love it. And in just under two weeks
we're going to be flying out to DC to compete at national convention. We're going to be able to visit the embassy and the Australian embassy and it's going to be great. So yeah. Miller. Congratulations. Next is the Caramel High School mock
trials team and Mr. Sean Curtis. >> Hello. So, I just want to briefly just tell you about the mock trial team, what they do. Just could not be prouder of the effort that these students put in. They start auditioning for the team in September.
The trial gets broken in October and then they spend nights, weekends, indescribable amounts of time breaking down plaintiff side and breaking down defense side witnesses. So, it's been a really great season. So, I just wanted to thank them, but also thank our
adviserss and our lawyers who help out before running. And I'm just gonna let Misa take it away as our team president and let her do the job. Well, thank you, Mr. Curtis. I think if we could give a big round of applause for Mr. Curtis and all the phenomenal work,
thank my co-president Evelyn Boster sitting there here and she'll be being organized a little bit, but Carl Maw has been doing phenomenal this year. We won our county championship. We have two three people from the county championship team here today. We won our regional competition. We got third, fourth, and sixth between all three of
our teams. Every single team qualified for state. and name and I won the state competition. We have the national competition in Iowa in early May. So, we're excited for that. And now for our senior recognition. First up is Liam Mullen.
Next is Christiania. Next is Namon Duckworth and Evelyn Boser. And also the project If there's no objection, we are out of Next on our agenda is the recognition of the CCS service award recipients and the
CCS retirements. Dr. Herrera. >> All right. Good evening, President Shakiro, Dr. Orike, and members of our board. It is an honor to be here tonight to recognize our employees for their years of service as well as those who will be retiring at the end of this school year. Our community, our
district, our school board, and our administration want to congratulate all of you today and we look forward to recognizing you on stage this evening. We will start this evening by recognizing those employees with 20 years of service to Karma Schools. For
those of you with 20 years of service, I ask that you begin making your way to the brick wall. And we ask that you line up alphabetically as we recognize you tonight. So, at this time, those with 20 years of service, please line up along the brick wall.
As our employees are lining up tonight, for those with 20 years of service, they are going to receive a certificate and an Amazon gift card worth $100. We have previously had a catalog for employees to choose from, but we transition to the gift card, so employees can choose something they
would like to celebrate with their years of service. So, at this time, we are going to begin recognizing our employees with 20 years of service. So when I call your name, please come forward to receive your certificate, shake hands, and then line
up across the stage by going all the way to the end. Please hold your applause until the end. So first up, we have Jamie Aier, Carmel Learning Center. Amy Banister, West Clay Elementary School,
Aaron Boyce, Clay Middle School. Hold our applause till the end and I'll get through all the names and then we'll stop. Carrie Brown, Caramel High School. Laura Cardaman, Carmel High School.
Mandy Floyd, Creekide Middle School. Kate Gasser, Forestdale Elementary School. Sabah Hussein, Town Meadow Elementary School. Becky Kaki, Cherry Tree Elementary
School. Robera Lane, Prairie Trace Elementary School. Sherry Lasco, Carmel High School. Jennifer Mansburgger, Carmel High School.
Christy Mora, Carmel Middle School. Melissa O'Hare, Carmel High School. Mary Podney, Educational Services Center. Trisha Shides, Carmel Middle School. Carrie Schwarz, Carmel High School.
Kathy Spencer, Carmel Middle School. She is >> Kathy. Come on up. And we will also be recognizing her as a retiree. So she'll be on here twice. >> Yes. Scott Saley, Carmel High School.
Toby Steel, Educational Services Center. Annuite, Educational Services Center. Jessica Tinbrook, Forestdale Elementary School. Jill Wolf Gang, Woodbrook Elementary School. So, let's give a round of
applause for 20 And while we are taking a picture, will those with 25 years of service please line up alphabetically along the brick wall? 25 years of service. Go ahead and line up.
All right, let's put our hands together for 20 years. And at this time, we are going to recognize those with 25 years of service. They will receive a certificate and an Amazon gift card worth $125 to honor this occasion. So, when I call
your name, please come forward to receive your certificate. Shake hands and then line up across the stage. Please hold your applause until the end. Sarah All, Carmel Middle School. Wendy Bass, Carmel High School.
Ann Byer, Creekide Middle School. Deborah Brown, Carmel High School. Heidi Davis, Creekide Middle School. Kelly Douglas, Carmel Learning Center. Beth Galloway, West Clay Elementary School. Jill Hall, Carmel Elementary School.
Lissa Lowe, Educational Services Center. Alicia Parent, Clay Center Elementary School. Dan Pradan, Carmel Middle School, and Ann Marie Warner, Educational Services Center. Let's put our hands together for 25.
And as we get their picture, will those with 30 years of service please line up alphabetically along the wall? Welcome to All right. All right. Those with 30 years of service to Carmel Clay Schools will
receive a certificate and a gift card worth $150. Please splend all of that on yourselves tonight. All right. First up, we have Kimberly Dodie, Prairie Trace Elementary School.
Craig Dragish, Clay Middle School. Laura Hunter, Clay Center Elementary School. Ann Mayhew, Carmel High School, and she is also a retiree. Deanna Pitman, Carmel Middle School. Sherry Roar, West Clay Elementary
School. Christy Roar, College Elementary School. Let's give a round of applause for All right. And those with 35 years of service, please line up along the wall as we are taking a picture.
All right, we do not need to hold our applause for the next person with 35 years of service. All right. And while she's having her picture taken, will the person with 40 years of service please make your way to
the front? Before we get to uh the illustrious Mr. Foss, um could we please bring up the 30 years one more time? We had a little air with the picture and the video and we want to make sure we remember this moment together. So 30 years, please come to
the stage. Sorry. Yeah. All right. And for 40 years of service, this person will receive a certificate and a $250 gift card. No need to hold
our applause for John Hos. too late. Too late. All right, one more round of applause. At this time, we are going to move on to the retiree portion of this evening. So, if you are being recognized this evening as a retiree, if you would please make
your way to the wall and line up alphabetically. And before we get to our retirees, if you were recognized tonight for your years of service, please stand one last time so we can recognize you. All right. At this time, we are going to
recognize our retirees who may have retired sometime after this celebration last year or may be retiring at the end of this school year. So at this time I am going to announce their name, their school, and provide a little bit of
information about each retiree. So there's no need to hold your applause once I am once I am done. So first up from the educational Oh, sorry. First up from Woodbrook Elementary School,
Principal Kelly Davis. Over the past 26 years, Mrs. Davis has served Carmel Clay schools with unwavering dedication, leaving a lasting impact as principal of Woodbrook Elementary School, Smoky Row Elementary School, and as assistant principal of
Cherry Tree Elementary School. Throughout her career, Mrs. Davis has consistently put students first, leading with a caring heart and an enduring commitment to their success. She is known for her steadfast support of teachers and for fostering a collaborative school culture in which
staff feel valued, encouraged, and empowered to do their best work. We wish you the best in your retirement, Kelly Davis. All right, next up, Carmel Middle School Education Department Chair Terry Dro.
Through years of dedicated leadership, Terry has been a tireless advocate for our students and a cornerstone of support for the staff. Her passion for special education and her genuine delight in every child's success have shaped a
department that will miss her wisdom and her warmth. Terry Dros. All right. From Carmel Middle School, special education instructional assistant, Maryanne Faren. Maryanne is retiring after an incredible
37 years in Carmel Clay Schools. She retired once already as a special education teacher. She then returned to work an additional 14 years as special educational instructional assistant. Congratulations on your second an
incredibly welldeserved retirement, Maryanne. All right, next up from Collegewood Elementary, third grade teacher Jenny Gossip. Jenny is completing 32 years of service. all the all of them at Collegewood as a
Collegewood Cardinal. She has taught over 400 students, mentored three student teachers, and impacted countless lives. She has taught kindergarten, second, and third grade. And when asked what she will miss most, it is the funny stories kids tell and the connections
with families. Jenny Gossip, our middle school science teacher, Kathy Gray. Kathy's passion for science and teaching is so infectious that it clearly took two retirements to finally stick. Kathy has an incredible teammate and is
a true champion for her students, leaving a legacy of curiosity and care that will be felt long after she leaves the lab. We wish you the best in your retirement. Kathy Gray All right, next up from Carmel High
School, science teacher Cynthia Henry. Cynthia's dedication to Carmel spans decades from volunteering in elementary schools to 15 years of at Carmel High School. Throughout her career, she has taught a wide range of courses and learners, consistently placing students
at the center of her work and supporting them in reaching high levels of success. We wish you a wonderful retirement. Cynthia Henry from Educare. The director of educ joined educare in 1999 as assistant
director and was promoted to director the following year. Under her leadership, Educare has earned a strong reputation and consistently maintains a long waiting list. Over the years, Karen has had the unique privilege of watching many of the children she once cared for
grow into young adults, some now returning as parents themselves. Karen Posa from Clay Center Elementary, fifth grade teacher Dana Lock. has been defined by your commitment to our students from their early years in
first grade to helping fifth graders turn in their final year of elementary school into a lasting foundation for the future. We thank her for being the inspiring mentor who helped so many of our children bridge the gap to their next big chapter. Dana Lock.
from Carmel High School, science teacher Ann Mayhew. After 30 years at Carmel High School, Ann leaves behind a legacy of high expectations and genuine care. The kind of teacher who never let a student slip through the cracks, whether in honors
biology or as a class sponsor for 25 years. She is the professional of our profession and we wish her we wish her the best in your retirement. Ann Mayhew from Clay Center Elementary kindergarten
teacher Cynthia Meyer. Cynthia's career has been defined by her dedication to our earliest learners, turning the first years of school into a strong foundation. We thank her for being the gentle hand that guided so many of her children toward their bright
futures, Cynthia Miner. Next up from Mohawk Trails, first grade teacher Kelly Meyer. Joy has filled classrooms of laughter and learning for decades, and her boundless heart for services has touched lives far beyond school walls. While her
legacy, legendary dance moves, may have occasionally required a surgeon's followup. They've always reminded students and colleagues alike to celebrate life boldly. Just maybe a little more caution in retirement. Kelly Meyer.
from the Educational Services Center executive assistant to the associate superintendent Joyce Meyers. Joyce has worked for Carmel Schools for 27 years. She began her career at Forestdale Elementary and moved to Town
Meadow when it opened in 2000. For the past 21 years, she has been the executive assistant to the associate superintendent, Roger Mcichael, and the face of the Ben business affairs division. Joyce is a highly regarded professional and our staff and community
will greatly miss her. We wish you the best in retirement. Joyce Meyers from Carmel High School. Special special education resource teacher Rebecca Overby. The special services department has always seen Rebecca as the department
mom. She remembers birthdays, plain celebrations, and she is always thinking of others and is a true person of service. She has been mistakenly called mom by her students as well. and she has the gift of caring and that is evident in her planning for her team and her
students. She is a blessing to have on our team. Rebecca Overby from Carmel High School custodian Kathy Patterson. Kathy dedicated 12 years as a custodian at Carmel High School. Her hard work and
attention to detail provided a welcoming environment every day for our students and staff. We hope your retirement is as bright and refreshed as the halls you leave behind. Kathy Peterson from Transportation Bus aid Karen Ree.
Karen served as a bus aid for 13 years. Her years of dedication made a positive impact on all of her students as well as her co-workers and peers. Karen has made a lasting difference in the lives of so many children throughout her time with the transportation department. Thank you
for your years of safety, patience, and care, and we wish you the best in retirement. from Carmel High School. Assistant Principal Amy Stain B. Amy has made a long lasting impact as an administrator in our district. From her
annual planning of prom and graduation to being the leader of our freshman center and mom of over 1300 freshmen each year, she has truly made a difference within our community. And we are thankful for her time, energy, and support of all of our students, staff,
and families over the years. And once a Greyhound, always a Greyhound. Amy from Carmel Middle School food services. Kathy Spencer. Kathy will be retiring in May after 20 years of service. Kathy has been a
tremendous help and dedicated employee. Whether she was fulfilling the fruit and vegetable morning prep, serving students, or cashiering, she did it all. And you will be greatly missed. Kathy Spencer from the facilities department.
Maintenance technician Mike Tolliver. Mike was a friendly face in our buildings for over 12 years as a maintenance technician. From emergency repairs to quiet preventative maintenance, he kept our facilities running smoothly. Thank you for your steady hand problem solving and
dedication to our district facilities. Enjoy a well-earned retirement. My Part: 2
supports the whole child. She builds strong relationships with families and cares deeply for her students and colleagues. CeCe has an amazing sense of humor and can often be found smiling, laughing, or helping others find the fun. She has been a wonderful member
member of our team for many years and will be missed. CC Trenshaw. He's from Educare lead teacher Robin Wood. Robin has been the heart of Clay Educator serving as both an incredible teacher.
Robin's impact goes far beyond the classroom walls. Robin has been absolutely instrumental in the day-to-day running of our center. It is her her leadership, dedication, and incredible attention to detail that makes Educare the great place it is
today. Robin will be missed, but her legacy will remain with Educare always. Robin Wood. >> One last round of applause for our retirees. And as they are getting their picture, I want to give a special thank you to
Kelly Hacket and our entire human resources department who put everything together tonight. Thank you for your leadership this evening. And I also want to thank our food services department for the lovely reception we had before tonight's recognition.
All right, one last round of applause for all right, a special thank you to our school board for all of your support for our employees as well. You are all welcome to stay for the remainder of the board meeting, but if you would like to go and celebrate those
being recognized this evening, we are going to take a short five minute break. Thank you very much and thank you for being here tonight. How are Yeah, >> good. >> Wow. >> Yeah.
I just want to get started. typically. Next on our agenda would be public comments. However, no one has signed up for public comments this evening. So, we will move on to consent. Consent agenda items this evening include the personnel report, claims,
payroll, approval of gift applications, the March 4th executive session minutes, the March 11th, 2026 workshop session minutes, the March 25th, 2026 regular session minutes, and the March 30th,
2026 special session minutes. Uh as a reminder, consent in the meeting agenda refers to a designated section where routine items are grouped together for efficient consideration and approval in a single motion. Uh consent are the items that the board must legally address but but which should not take up
considerable time. Um do I have a motion to approve all items on the consent agenda? >> I move that we approve all items on the consent agenda. >> Thank you, Mrs. Coke. Do I have a second? Second.
>> Thank you, Miss Wheeler. Uh, any discussion? Great. We will now vote. All those in favor of approving the items on the consent agenda, please signify by saying I. >> I. >> Any opposed? No. Great. Motion carries.
Uh, Dr. Herrera would like to share some exciting information regarding something we approved within the consent agenda. Dr. Herrera. >> Thank you. I do have some exciting news. So, President Shapiro, Dr. Orike, and members of the board this evening. I will present be presenting our assistant
principal for both Prairie Trace and for Carmel High School. So, I will start with Prairie Trace first. Start with Mandy Spurgeon. If you would please stand. pleased to announce the appointment of Amanda Spurgeon as the assistant principal at Prairie Trace Elementary
School. Amanda has proudly served our district as a teacher and as an instructional coach. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for her unwavering dedication to fostering strong, positive relationships with students and families and the school
community. We are confident that her leadership, dedication, and passion for student and staff success will make her an outstanding addition to the administrative team. So, ble please join me in welcoming Amanda Spurgeon. All right, next up we have Katie Kelly.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Katie Kelly as assistant principal at Carmel High School. Katie is a familiar name to many because she is a former Carmel High School graduate and social studies teacher. Since 2022, she has
served as assistant principal at Southport Middle School and is now returning to the community where she grew up and lives. We are confident that her experience, leadership, and dedication to this community will make her an outstanding addition to their administrative team at Carmel High
School. Please join me in welcoming Katie Kelly. >> Thank you, Dr. Her. And welcome and welcome back. Always great to have greyhounds come home. Next on our agenda this evening are discussion items. The first discussion
item is materials adoption for miscellaneous and new courses. Dr. Dudley. >> Thank you. So this evening I do have some miscellaneous um adoption materials that we are recommending to be adopted to be used in the 2026 27 school year
through through the 203132 school year. So typically when we adopt new materials we use them for a period of six years. And the reason we choose six years is the state has an ongoing um cycle that they look at um academic
standards. Every six years they have that cycle where they update those academic standards. So that's why we adopt our materials for those six years to support the current academic standards. So, the courses that um we are recommending tonight are courses in our English department at the high
school as well as um courses for our criminal justice um pathway um a course in our alternate diploma um our course in our world language as well um and some other miscellaneous courses.
>> Thank you, Dr. Dudley. Any discussion or questions for Dr. Dudley? Mrs. Skate, >> I know last year we added um was it just last year we added Arabic? Um and so
that looks like we're growing that program. >> Correct. So last year we um adopted we added the Arabic um course and we added it for the three years. However, when we started it last year, it started with Arabic one. So we're adding the materials for Arabic 2 and three. We're
adopting those. >> Perfect. Thank you. Anything further for Dr. Dudley? Great. So, we will see this again at the next meeting for approval. >> Thank you. >> Great. Thank you, Dr. Dudley. Our next discussion item is the Carmel Clay
Schools calendars for the 2027 28 and the 2028, 2029 school years. Dr. Herrera. Thank you. So, President Shapiro, Dr. Strike, and members of our board, I will be sharing a presentation with you as
soon as I can get it to come up. Taking just a moment. I also want to take a moment as Dr. Hera is getting her presentation up to thank uh our technology team tonight. Um we have Mr. Shuhai back there, Mr. Cole uh
the team. We have I believe some students from Carmel High School also helping us uh this evening as well um for all they do. It takes a lot a large amount of work to get this uh up and running for us so that we can recognize
our valued uh employees for their use years of service and their our retirees. And so I just want to say thank you to our technology team, Mr. Shuhai, Mr. Cole who's working behind the scenes at this time. And also want to take a moment to recognize uh our uh Carmel
Police Department. Uh we have Major Flamming uh who is with us tonight and officer Commodore for being here and uh keeping us safe uh as we continue to do great work here in the district. So thank you. It takes a village. It takes a lot of work to get this up and running
for this outstanding evening and just want to take a moment to thank all of those who are behind the scenes taking good care of us. So thank you again and I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Herrera. >> All right. Thank you. So tonight I will be sharing insights from our 202728
and 2028-29 district calendar survey results. The pillar of my presentation supports is effective communication and community engagement specifically looking at clear and consistent communication and open
and accountable open and accountable communication. And the key initiative this supports is to improve consistency in our staffto family communication. And then we will measure this through our key initiative that supports our engagement or that
looks at our engagement rates on district communication platforms. So we sent out a survey um I would say earlier it was earlier this year and so the district survey was sent to all staff and all families in the district.
On the survey, I shared key lock guidelines. So, I kind of gave some parameters for them to think about. Some of those guidelines included understanding that we have to have 180 instructional days and that we try to
balance the calendar between how many days are in first semester versus how many are in second semester. And so, from the responses we received, we had 2566 parents, um, guardians or students. and that we had 605 responses from our
staff. With regard to fall break, the survey asked families and staff to choose from three options, a week-l long fall break, a two-day break, or no preference. The results showed that over 60% of both
staff and families indicated they prefer the week-long fall break. Then we provided families with and our staff with open-ended questions. So we included those on our survey to gather more detailed feedback about what families found beneficial or
challenging. So we asked both of those. Um and so for our families overall parents highly valued the week-long fall break, noting that it allows for extended family travel during off- peak season when trips are often more affordable. Some parents expressed a
preference for a later start of the school year, indicating they would be willing to give up October fall break in exchange for a few more days in the summer. And then a few parents suggested um the calendar adjusting the calendar
by re redistributing days in during the week of Thanksgiving or creating a break in February. When we asked our staff that same um kind of open-ended question, they felt um that this reinforced the importance
of fall break from multiple perspectives. Many staff members described the full week as an essential mental health reset, providing a much needed opportunity to recharge. They also noted that a consistent week-long break improves instructional continuity
for students and the extended time allows staff to take advantage of more affordable off- peak travel and spend quality time with their families making um supporting a healthier work life balance. And then some challenges were also identified particularly for coaches
or families with students and that was because athletes are still required to attend trainings or they have games. And then some staff noted that there are sometimes childc care conflicts and the misalignment of breaks with our
neighboring school districts. In regards to Memorial Day, the survey asked families and staff to choose from three options. So again, we were looking at support for ending the year after Memorial Day, ending the year before Memorial Day, or no preference. And the
results showed that over 50% of both families and staff indicated they prefer to end school before Memorial Day. When we asked thoughts on the Karm Clay Schools calendar just in general, the survey, we provided um opportunity for
that feedback. And so these are mentions. So when we had that open-ended question, we really synthesized the data to really look at how many times was something mentioned. So we have 604 responses mentioned that we should
prioritize finishing before uh Memorial Day. We had 307 responses mentioned looking at when spring break is offered. We had um 224 responses mentioning um
starting a few days later in August. 183 responses mentioned having an interest in a week-long um break in February. 172 responses mentioned prioritizing a week-long fall break. 134 responses
mentioned having a child care concerns over break. and then 36 mentioned sports and alignment with breaks. Um, and to put this into perspective, I do want to remind you we had 2,566 responses. So, out of those 2566,
these are just the people that mentioned those things. In the survey, we provided opportunity for feedback on the overall school calendar. And this is from the staff. So again, there were 203 mentions of prioritizing finishing before Memorial
Day. 88 talked about looking at when spring break is offered. 68 mentioned ending the semester before winter break. So the need to make sure that we are having our tests and our exams before winter break comes. um 50 mentions of
starting a few days later, 47 mentions of having an interest in a week-l long break in February, and then 43 mentions of prioritizing week one fall break. So, in collaboration with the CTA and feedback from the survey, I've created a
tentative um school calendar that I'm going to get ready and share with you for 2027 28 and then 2829. And so we created this school calendar based on the feedback that included having a full week of fall break, ending the school
year before Memorial Day. And then what we did is we did a little bit research with our surrounding districts. And for the 2728 calendar, we are all aligned if we keep spring break the first week of April. So that is exactly what what
we're looking at doing. So this is a um view of the 2728 calendar and then we have a view of the 2829 calendar and I will share this presentation with you so you can take a closer look at it
and that concludes my presentation. >> Thank you Dr. Herrera. Questions, comments, thoughts from the board? Miss Wheeler? Thank you, Dr. Herrera. I appreciate that you did the survey and then you took that input to create a calendar.
I'm sure that wasn't the easiest task in the world. Um, my question is really about um late starts and I apologize that I don't know the answer, but how and when do the late start days get layered on top of these calendars? Is
that something that happens later? Um because I've gotten a little bit of feedback from some parents who said especially when we have like a Monday holiday and then we have a Wednesday late start that sometimes that's like a stutter start. Uh it makes it a little
bit difficult and Dr. O you know if this is a question for you is going to handle this one. >> Okay cool. So, um, late start, um, the late start calendar gets layered on the year before. Like, for example, we just published the late start calendar for
next year. Um, and there's a lot of pieces that go into um, looking at the late starts. We try to do them every other week. Um, and then we and we start with the high school because their calendar is the most complicated, putting in all the days of the blue and
gold days and then also then putting in like SAT day and things like that. And so then we look at those late starts to say what makes the most sense. Um, one year I know we did start a late start the very first week which I think was um
difficult. That is not for this um next year coming up for those late starts. But we do take all of those and try to accommodate the best we can. >> Great. Thank you. And I know it's a challenge. Can't make everybody happy all the time and you do your best. So I appreciate that.
>> Yeah. And I'll just add on that. Thank you for your question. The week I think we did the late start on the first week is when we started the year on a Monday and the feedback was clear from our community and our teachers that they do prefer the Wednesday start with
students. So we have Wednesday, Thursday, Friday with students. The teachers prepare either two or three days ahead as you see in these calendars. And so based upon previous feedback, we're sticking to that Wednesday start. >> Mrs. Cook,
>> I just wanted to say thank you for the I really I know I think we've all been trying to work on this part of our strategic plan to get more community engagement before we make decisions like this. So, I just really really appreciate that that people have the opportunity both parents and staff and
students to respond. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, I just would echo uh the remarks that have already been shared. Appreciate the fact that we give the opportunity for the community to participate in the survey. I will not be a parent when these calendar I will
still be a parent. I will not be a parent of a student uh when these calendars go into effect, but I did participate in the survey um because I I think it's important to still share the feedback. So, I would remind the community that we want the feedback because that's how we make informed
choices. Um and so, if there is feedback about these calendars, right, we're not voting on these tonight. So, please share that feedback so that we can make informed decisions. Um I was going to ask the same question that Miss Wheeler asked about late starts. Um, I saw a smirk from a fellow board member because
she knows that that's um a comment that I've made previously that just the irony of that they seem to crop up on on short weeks often. Um, and I know there's a lot of factors there, but I I do appreciate the consideration that has been taken into account from all the
different perspectives and um, having grown up uh, in a different community, knowing the balance that needs to take place with um, all the different breaks and trying to find that midpoint, especially that second semester where we're going, you know, basically from
January until spring break, which is the longest stretch for our teachers and for our students before there's a long break. So that conversation about having a a mid- winter, you know, a longer break around President's Day, which I know is very common on the East Coast, um is not necessarily a Midwest thing,
but again, there are challenges and pluses and minuses with all that. But clearly, our community feels very strongly uh about ending by Memorial Day. Everyone wants to be done in time for the summer to begin when Memorial Day hits. So, um, you know, I I appreciate that we take that feedback
into consideration and so appreciate all the hard work that went into this and, um, especially important that we continue to partner with the CTA as we as we make these plans because we want to make sure this is continues to be a partnership. >> And I just wanted to add, thank you to Dr. Herrera for all your work. Thank you
to Mrs. Bower for your work on the calendar and the communications and sending out the surveys. And as uh President Shapiro mentioned, thank you to Mark Ween and our uh Carmel Teachers Association for all of their feedback. We had lots of ideas we floated around. We had lots of different drafts. We were
playing with different dates and seeing what we could do and not do. And the feedback really from our teachers and our parents were invaluable to coming up with the calendar drafts that you see here tonight. So, thank you very much. Appreciate it. >> Thank you again, Dr. Herrera. Next on
our agenda is the report section and our first report is a CPAC update. Mrs. Kok and Miss Wheeler >> start and Mrs. Kok please feel free to um jump in. So uh briefly on March 30th
Mrs. Kok and I and Dr. O as well as Dr. Dudley and Mrs. Fairchild met with Mendy Culie who is with a company um called Cool Abilities. She is um the trainer that Insource which is the state special
education resource um agency. Um they offer free 1-hour training for school districts. So Mandy did that training with us. Um I think we both thought it was really really helpful. What we covered in that meeting is what a CPAC
is and how it serves as a specialized form of family engagement. It is parentled, district championed and focused on systemic change rather than individual student and family concerns.
Um the benefits of having a CPAC in the district which are earlier dispute resolution, shifting culture, engaging families, um having increased understanding of our special education options and how our processes work. um
also how the CPAC process works, how to get it started, what the best practices are for that as well as some of the available um support systems. Our next steps um as a team are to identify the
administrative champion uh within the district, begin conversations with building principles to identify some of our founding parent council members for the CPAC. um it will be open to all parents once we get it started and we'll
work on publicizing that. But that that this is a a long-term project, not something that of course would be done this year. Um and also we would um we got a statement of work from Mendy um to be used as a resource for the district
um as we needed it. Um really appreciated Dr. O's statement that he um will do what's needed to get the state back off to the right start and um I think we're all very excited um to uh
begin this process. We also have a whole lot of resources as a group provided by Mendy and resources um like how new feedbacks get started and a lot of preliminary documents like bylaws and things like that that I think will be
very useful as well. Um several of us I believe are going to either sit in in person or online. Um the Westfield CPAC is having a meeting um on I think it's April 30th. Is that right? Okay. Yeah. I
I didn't see it in front of me, but April 30th and we're just going to sit in and um kind of see how their group works and it'll help us focus our work. So, please jump in. >> No, that was a great summary. That was that was phenomenal. I think that I think the biggest things that she gave us that in that meeting was an outline
of how to get things started. And what you said, I'll just reiterate that that somebody from the district's administration that we have what she called district champion and I really like that name. is somebody who is going to champion the cause of that relationship between um families in the community and then um working to
identify um parents who would be willing to be the leaders to to get this started. >> And I just wanted to add I appreciate the collaboration of the board especially Mrs. Coke and Miss Wheeler. Want a special thank you also to Dr. Dudley and Mrs. Fairchild. We look
forward to doing this right uh and taking the time to make sure we get our CPAC off to a phenomenal start. So, we have some steps as Miss Wheeler described and so we're going to be working now until the end of the year and then with the hopes of getting it up
and running early next school year. So, we're excited and uh to see where this goes to continue to support our students and our families. So, thank you for the collaboration. >> Thank you, Dr. O and Mi, Mrs. SC, do you have something? >> Yeah, just a question. Sure. Really glad
to see this getting going forward and it's like we've got some great resources to draw from. Um, could you tell me a little bit about the district champion position? Is that a parent? And what would the role be? >> It's a district administrator. It would typically be the way she described it.
Um, uh, for example, in her district, it is the special education director, but it can be anybody. It can be an assistant director. somebody um in administration who wants to be this champion. Kind of like the leader. Um that's just the you know verbiage she
uses as district champion, but just somebody who wants to be who is willing to attend meetings and help be that that go between between the school and the and the parents um and consistently be there too as as the CPAC grows. >> Okay. Is there a way parents could get
involved or be involved more in the administration or you know running of the CPAC? I think for right now kind of the next step was at the building level. Um the and this is again what Mendy recommended that um she's been doing this kind of across the state um is at
the building level to have building administrators identify parents who um would you know asking parents I guess if they would be willing to be part of u the CPAC to be those founding parents. So that's kind of the work that's being done right now. Um then once those founding parents are identified,
starting to have some trainings and meetings um with the district um to get started for the next school year and then inviting more parents as they have actual meetings. Anyone is welcome. You know, any of us can go um any parent will be welcome and those will be, you know, those meetings will obviously be
advertised at that time. Um so we have a nice um for those of us that have students with IEPs and 504s, we um have been able to opt in to special emails from the district. So, thank you, Emily. Thank you for everybody who's worked on
that. Appreciate it. Um, it's it's I know those of us who have gotten it. It's a nice resource. It's full of resources from not just Carmel Schools, but the Carmel community and surrounding community, but then that will I think will also be the place where that will kind of be sent out um for information about the CPAC.
>> Excellent. Thank you. >> Anything else? Great. Thank you both for your work on this. Next report is on the KUSPA conference. So in March, uh Mrs. Kok, Miss Wheeler, Mrs. Cashin, and I all were uh with Dr.
O, uh were all able to attend the KUSPA conference in Louisville, Kentucky. KUSPA is the consortium of state schoolboard associations. And uh as is customary anytime the school board attends a conference we are uh we feel it's important to come back
and share uh about our experience uh share some of the learning that we were able to participate in and how we uh are hopeful to bring some of that knowledge back to the district. And so uh we're going to each take a minute or two and share a little bit about some of the
things uh that we took from that our time down there. So, um, I don't mean to put anybody on the spot, but I think it would just make sense if we moved down the table. So, Mrs. Cash, if you don't mind kicking us off. >> Thank you. I really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to go that,
especially as such a new board member, it really gave me a wide perspective of what not only people within Indiana on school boards are experiencing, but really across the country. We heard resounding themes from all of them about budgetary kind of challenges that they are facing. So, we're not alone here. I
did go to several breakouts that revolved around finances from different perspectives, but to summarize it, it came down to enable able to be able to work through your trying times. You need to have a good understanding of historical income and expenditures during your good times as well. Um, so
really looking at that 10-year cost comparison, especially on uncontrollables such as the utilities, building operational costs, things that are required to run the district regardless of how many kids are in a building. and really seeing those inflationary costs over time. Um, focus
a lot on dashboards, too, because you should have any member of the community be able to understand our finances at any time. You shouldn't need to have a finance degree or understand a P&L. Essentially, we should be able to have very what I call digestible transparency when it comes to our finances. looking
at total budget, spend per pupil, operating expenditures, excess values, um, and including year-over-year, as well as peer benchmarks to know where we stand with the other districts in our county. Um, and one thing that was said that really I I wrote down, I think twice, is that every capital project
approved generates required operating costs in the future. and to have a better understanding of what that long-term liability looks like for every um thing that we essentially build in the future. And another one I just wanted to quickly mention that I really enjoyed was the crisis communication
breakout where he talked about the fact that the court of public opinion is always in session. And I think for schools in particular, it has evolved now to more community engagement, which is amazing. and really trying to always, as he said, tell the truth, tell it first, tell it fast, tell it all, and
then tell how you might plan to change things in the future if there is an issue or a crisis that does happen. We hope to never have a super serious crisis in Carmel Schools, but even on the little things that happen, just being extremely transparent and quick with that communication makes all the difference when engaging with our
community. >> Thank you, Mrs. Cashion. It was really hard for me to pick just one topic and we had a lot of good conversation during our downtime about the various sessions. The one that I um ended up deciding to
speak about was a session that we went to on it was under the community engagement um branch and it was led by um was it North Carolina or South Carolina? Do you remember? South Carolina. um a superintendent from South
Carolina. Actually in South Carolina there is a state law that says that each school board has to visit every school building in their district at least once every year. And he had the yeah 51 and
the numerous school board members uh about four or five times as many as we have. I can't imagine the logistics of doing that. But um his point and he was very adamant on this kind in two different ways. One was getting your
school boards into um the schools and I'm so glad we don't have that many buildings, but um as some of you may know, we we as a board are and have mentioned that we are trying to do that. And I think it's really important for us
uh and the superintendent to understand what's going on in our buildings. And you know, um I know we had a couple of um school board members um at one of our elementary schools just yesterday and you know, they were raving about some of the things that we they
have seen. I also um was very uh taken by the superintendent's comment about um giving opportunities for your parents and your families and your community um to get into your buildings and it is the
best way to tell your story. And I know that we have started doing things like an open house in the last couple of years and I'm very interested to see how we can within the boundaries of safe schools try to do more of that. So um
really excited about the the community engagement piece. I couldn't picked just one. I just I'll be brief. I promise. Um I do Okay. Um I the one of the ones that really stuck out to me and this is probably just
because of my day job. Um I went to a session on the combination of workbased learning and special education programs and specifically um a program like what we have for students who kind of after they graduate that transition program up
until they're um age 22. Um and this school was in Tennessee and it was just I think there was not a dry eye room. um because there was a student um with autism who came and spoke and he had not he had been non-speaking as a early
teenager and um because of the program because of the work at the school he now is an artist as an adult he's an artist and sells his art um and they just do a really cool thing they partner with things like Dollywood and just other places in their community and give the
students the opportunity to try different jobs as many different jobs as they want to to see what might be the best fit when they uh graduate. So, that one that one really got to me. Um, one interesting one I went to was was titled the state of American schools and it was
just a lot of data. Um, I can share that data with with everybody. It was really interesting talking about just in general in the United States, what is going on. And so, all over the country, we're seeing teacher shortages. um the impacts of uh the quote unquote school
choice um and then also what we're seeing um across some states and and I think we've heard about it more recently in Indiana because we've really upped our reading scores um but they were saying that in most of the country there still is this gap since um the pandemic
of this math and reading gap that we're kind of trying to catch up to. Uh, the last one that kind of stuck with me is and and this is why I feel like why, you know, why we go to the COSBA, why we go to the Indiana State School
Board Association conferences is so that we can learn to be better schoolboard members. Um, and it's a lot of work, right? It's it's we're sitting in our on our own free time learning and and it's and it's great. But I think that is one of the things I learned is there is actual data showing that school boards
who do the work to learn and take time to work on being better schoolboard members, they are more effective school boards in general for their districts. And as we know from other data and an effective school board is directly related to student outcomes.
So, I'm going to pick up where Mrs. Kok finished because one of the sessions I went to uh was a school board member uh in suburban New York who actually started his career in corporate America and um got really frustrated with what
was going on in his suburban school district and then without any experience decided to run for school board and then he has written a book about his experience. He's still a sitting school board member. I think he's in his third or fourth term and it's uh why school boards matter and the research that he's
done is all about how consistent boardsmanship has increased student outcomes. Um I'm still in the middle of the book so I haven't finished it yet but I'm happy to share it when I'm done. Um and one of the things you talked about was school boards that focus on six or fewer initiatives are the most
effective and that's where you see needle movement. Um so it's just interesting that you went to a session uh and had a takeaway that was similar. Um I went to two other sessions that were uh related to each other uh in different ways and it was about the importance of student voice. So one uh
was a school district in Florida that is very large. Um however they wanted a way to incorporate student voice into the decisions that the school district and the school board uh were making. And so what they intended to do was start a student focus group. And what that has
turned into uh is having uh school rep school student representation uh as part of their school board. Um and so they currently have uh a junior and senior from each of their school. They obviously have multiple high schools in their district. So it's not a direct correlation. Uh they have a junior and
senior from each of their high schools that meet with the superintendent weekly um I'm sorry by monthly throughout the year uh for about 90 minutes and uh basically have a focus group and they're able to share uh what's going on in each of their schools. They're able to
problem solve. It provides connection amongst these students. It also provides consistent leadership. So right when the senior graduates then the junior sort of becomes the senior leader at that school and then can mentor the upcoming the junior that then rolls onto uh the
board. Um so it gives the superintendent an opportunity to build relationships directly with students. Again, not a direct correlation to our district when we upon high school, but I just thought it was super interesting way to engage students uh not only in providing direct
feedback, but also sort of how decisions get made at a district-wide level. Um so there are a lot of takeaways for that for me and it directly correlated to a session I went to that was led by the National Student School Board Association, which is an actual thing.
Uh there's a national association of student school boards. They actually exist in 42 states around the country. Uh it just got started three years ago, so it's fairly new, but there are 42 states, including some of our neighboring states, uh like Illinois, uh
that have a student member of their school board, um that sits on their school board, participates in meetings. Um so it was a really interesting idea. Um again, not sure exactly how it fits or where it fits or how. Um but I I
think it is an interesting way to not only have student voice represented. Um but you talk about civic engagement opportunity for students to learn about the process of how we make decisions to understand how district administration functions and you know I think we we
make a lot of as a board uh are charged with making a lot of important decisions. A lot of those decisions impact upwards of 16,000 students and in particular over 5,000 students at our high school and yet how are we ensuring that those 5,000 students voices are
heard uh as we make some of those important decisions and so uh just gave me a lot of uh pause and things to think about and I I think it's something that is is worth us considering how we ensure that those voices are earned. So it was a great opportunity to learn uh
individually. It was great for the four of us alongside Dr. Ro to be there together and have the opportunity during our downtime to talk about things that we were learning. Uh I know we have the ISBA fall conference coming up uh in the fall. I'm hopeful that all five of us uh
can attend downtown and that is certainly more locally focused since it's Indiana and it is right downtown in Indianapolis. So it doesn't require a long commute on any of our parts. So, um, grateful for the support of the school district and the community for allowing us to attend it. So, thanks
everybody for sharing your takeaways. And our last report this evening is the superintendent report. Dr. Ro. >> Well, good evening, President Shapiro, members of the board. Uh, there is one meeting a year that I uh break out the glasses due to the lighting and everything up here and this is the one.
So uh first of all what a wonderful outstanding evening we had recognizing our valued employees with their years of service uh and our retirees. Dr. Herrera, great job uh passing the torch and uh taking it uh from here this year.
I really appreciate you and all of your work and the work of our HR team as well. Also, special thank you to you and we all from the board and from the administration and our community so much appreciate all of our employees, especially those we recognize tonight uh
who have dedicated many years of service to our students and families. And tonight is always a special night. And just to see the looks on the faces of our employees that we're recognizing and the great pride that they take serving our students and our families um just
makes me appreciate what a wonderful community we serve in. And so congratulations again uh to all of our employees we recognize this evening. So tonight I have one item and it's the bell ringer and uh I have the distinct
pleasure of sharing some outstanding news that reflects the high standard of leadership we strive here in Carmel Clay Schools. And I am thrilled to announce that the Indiana School Boards Association has honored our school board me uh board of trustees and three
individual members with the 2025 exemplary governance award. Congratulations. Let's give them a round of applause. And so collectively, our board has earned the level one commendable distinction from the Indiana School
Boards Association. This puts Caramel Clay Schools in a elite group of only 120 boards safewide recognized for their commitment to continuous improvement and strategic goal setting. We also had three individuals who have gone above and beyond in their professional
training this year. Uh Mrs. Kristen Kok who achieved the high honor of the level three distinguished award. Let's give Mrs. Kok a round of applause. And also Mr. John Shapiro and Miss Chris Chris Wheeler who each earned the outstanding
level one commendable award as well. So congratulations to you both in addition. So these levels for those of you watching at home uh these levels are earned through accumulating points for attendance at ISBA seminars, workshops,
conferences and other learning events. For those that attended COSPA, I believe you also receive points for attending that conference as well as it's connected to the ISBA. So, by investing your personal time into these programs, our members demonstrate a true
dedication to being the best board and individual members they can possibly be. And I truly appreciate all of you up here this evening. These accolades are simply not titles. They represent a tireless dedication to staying informed on school law, governance, and most
importantly, student success. So, thank you very much. And that concludes tonight's report. Thank you, Dr. Rike. Just a few announcements this evening. Uh, April 22nd, next Wednesday, the school board will hold a special session at the ESC
starting at 6 PM. The following Wednesday, April 29th, will be our schoolboard workshop session. May 13th will be our schoolboard regular session for the month of May. May 22nd will be the last day of school for students. And
on Monday, May 25th is Memorial Day. All schools and offices will be closed. May I have a motion to adjourn? >> I move that we adjourn the meeting. >> Thank you, Mrs. Kok. May I have a second? Second
>> meeting is adjourned at 7:39.