Oh, I la. have some. Yeah. The meeting is now called to order. Roll call. Mr. Brown. >> All board members are present except our president, John Shapiro. >> Thank you. Please stand for the pledge
of allegiance. I alian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all. Next, I will read our Carmel Clay Schools mission statement, and that is that Carmel Clay Schools will provide opportunities for all students to realize their potential in an everchanging world. First this evening, we have our
presentations. And tonight, we are recognizing the Clay Center Elementary Spellbull State Champions, Mrs. Fleger, Good evening. I'd like to thank the school board and the administration for recognizing our team this evening. Um,
we are so proud of all of their hard work and so excited that we get to call them state champions. So, I would love to invite up our two coaches, Miss Riley Peters and Miss Miranda Mahia, who have some words to say about the team.
Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be here tonight. I know I can say for both of us, we're so proud to um be here with our students, this state champion Spellball team. And this accomplishment goes so far beyond just winning the competition, but it really
reflects the months of hard work, dedication, perseverance, and curiosity that it took for them to secure such an amazing achievement. So, great job. You guys were very proud of you. Um, and I'd just like to add that these students supported one another. They
showed true teamwork. They represented our school with focus and integrity. They didn't just learn how to spell many difficult words, 750 to be exact. Um, they learned how to prepare, persevere like Miss Peters said, and truly believe in themselves. And this championship is something that they should be really
proud of. And it's truly has been an honor to coach them. and we'll call you guys up one by one to receive your certificates. Um, Mason Fun, Teddy Gadens, Leela GA, Ryland Hansen,
Clara Harley, Eve Herman, Olivia Poe, Alex Pike, Peter Maguire, Ethan Mau, Awesome. Clea Harris Ye.
And our last member who's not here tonight, Jackie Co. Congratulations. and we will take a brief break since it is a school night. If you want to uh go home for the evening and get ready for tomorrow or you're welcome to stay and watch the rest of the schoolboard
meeting. It's up to you. Thank you. Good job, buddy. >> He's cute. Next, we will move on to public comment. And we do have one person signed up for public comment this evening. I will read our board bylaws. Um, just to remind everyone, oh, individuals who have
residency within the boundaries of the school corporation or have children enrolled in the school corporation are given first priority. Participants must be recognized by the presiding officer and must preface their comments with an announcement of their name and group
affiliation if applicable. The duration of each participant's comments shall not exceed three minutes in length. Speakers may not yield their time to another speaker. Boisterous or univil conduct will not be permitted, nor will any defamatory remarks be tolerated.
Comments shall be directed to the board. No person may address or question individual board members. As a general matter, the school board will not act or respond to questions or comments made during public comment, but will take them under advisement. And again, this evening, we have one
person signed up. So, um, I'm going to call your name and you can go ahead and go up to the podium. She's just just needed to move some phones out of the way. Um, and then you will see um that a green light will come on and that it will begin your three minutes. So, this evening we have Rachel
Hartzell signed up for public comment. Hi, my name is Rachel Hartzell and I'm a parent of a student at uh Carmel Clay Elementary. Uh hello esteemed members of the board and uh Carmel Clay staff. Thank you for all that you do for our students. Sincerely, I'm coming to you today
regarding Chromebooks. While there are several concerns that I and other parents share, I'm asking specifically today for more open and collaborative dialogue with parents along with greater transparency in Power School regarding the opt- out options available for students. I'd like to share my own
family's experience as I see this as an opportunity to work together towards one of our common goals, parent and community involvement enhancing student learning. I have three young boys, my oldest in first grade at CCe. Last year at the start of kindergarten, I was surprised when my son brought home a a
Chromebook. We had received no prior preparation or communication that he would be assigned a dedicated laptop despite many opportunities from the school to do so prior to the start of the school year. To have such a huge responsibility unceremoniously dropped on a parent and very young student without proper communication does not
set up a successful parent school partnership. Beyond the digital concerns which I cannot address today, there are physical ones. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends backpacks weigh no more than 10 to 15% of a student's body weight. On a good day, my son's backpack
weighed 20 to 25% of his weight. This led to actual back pain this year. We walked to school for every day, just for context. I obtained a doctor's note stating the Chromebook needed to stay at school. It was a happy week until I received a phone call stating my doctor's note was denied. This was
shocking, not just for my son, but for the larger implications for any Carmel family seeking medical accommodations. And when staff is crying on the phone to me because I am unable to advocate for my own child, the system is broken. I had to have five different conversations before I was finally told I could simply
decline the technology consent form in P school. I had not known that before. Even then, the district had to send a special Adobe signed document because there was no way to withdraw directly in P school. This is simply not an efficient use of anyone's time or the district's resources.
During these conversations, I asked for supported research showing that screens have a positive impact on learning at this age. No one could answer. Eventually, I was told the onetoone requirement was in case of a snow day. Yet, during this winter's snow days, a month after we relinquished the Chromebook, my son logged into Canvas
from home and completed his work. No Chromebook needed. In the four months since we gave up the device, my son is happier, more engaged at home, and healthier in mind, body, and curiosity. I am using registration season as a springboard to ask for three things. One, educate the parents on exactly how
the devices will be used, citing supported research research for why and how devices are good for all the students. Two, make it clear and power school that students, excuse me, that parents have the option for uh refusing the Chromebook without the struggle that I went through. Lastly, we need forums as a community to redefine the policy
for the betterment of our students. Students should learn through the world, real world around them before the digital one. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Next on our agenda is consent. And tonight, the consent agenda items include personnel report, claims,
payroll, approval of gift applications, change orders for the Cherry Tree Elementary renovations, change orders for the Carmel High School Polytech edition, change orders for the Caramel High School Natiatorum edition and existing Natiatorium renovations. um as
well as the February 11th, 2026 workshop session minutes and the February 25th regular session minutes. And as a reminder, the this consent part of our agenda is our designated section where we group together routine items so that we can efficiently consider them and
approve them in a single motion rather than having to line item each of these. Um on this one I am going to have Mr. Mcichael just give us a little bit of background because there's some special gifts. Um and then as well as there's a
change order uh regarding the niatoriums. >> Yes, as noted uh typically we don't discuss uh consent items that are otherwise action items, but we do have some special items I'd like to call attention to uh for the board and the public. First, we have a we have a gift
that is really exceptional in that it's u it's from Brock Aldrich. Uh it is auto parts donated to our Polytech and our recently completed um automotive section and um it's it has been appraised. I
mean this is $370,000 worth of auto parts from a retail standpoint. So that's um now the parts aren't worth nearly that to the school district, but certainly they have very much value. We had two teachers that on
their own time went spent hours getting the parts and so forth. Um his this unfortunately uh Mr. Aldrich's father passed away several years ago and he owned an auto parts store and so essentially um the district was being
given the entire inventory in the store and u there's a a lot of it that we won't have specific use for but for example um they will they will use many of the parts as I don't want to say decorate but just so you get the picture
in the new space because if this were a a repair shop at a dealership, they would have parts, right? So, now we'll have parts that we wouldn't have gone out and spent money to to do that, but it certainly will add to the very excellent facility that we have and and
they will use some of the part. They've used some of them already. Um, but um uh so we very much appreciate it and I just wanted to call that to your attention. Um and because that's that's really an unusual gift that we that we've received
here. And uh so then secondly, we have uh three change orders. Um one of them is for Cherry Tree Elementary at about $49,000. That's kind of typical as an ad change order and another one for Polytech for about
$49,000. But the one I want to emphasize is is we have a DDK change order, which we like those a lot better. And uh for the Natiatorium, and it's $252,000. And uh so I thought it was worth bringing that to your attention in the
public. Um uh most of that is for what we call unused contingency. That project's essentially finished. This contractor was finished. So in closing out their contract, we we we include in the contract, we include a percentage of
the of the bid basically um for so that we don't have to come back with change orders for every smaller thing. And so in this case, given the size of that project, um it was millions of dollars worth of contract, but still still
$250,000 that we we found we were we didn't have to spend. And so we always welcome those kinds of things. And so those are what I particularly wanted to share with the board. >> Thank you very much. Definitely good good extra information. We appreciate
it. Do I have a motion to approve all of the items on this on today's consent agenda? >> I move to approve all of the items on today's consent agenda. And thank you for not making me say every single one. >> May I have a second?
>> Second. any discussion on these? >> I just wanted to thank um Mr. Altridge in particular, all of our donors of course, but that's really a great way to use something like that and we appreciate it so much.
>> Yeah, I just a comment too is I noticed there's a 1976 Ford Mustang too donated and I'm I'm sure there are some parts in that stock that will fit that car and I'm sure it needs some parts. That is a good example because as you
know u u the cars that that are worked on typically they're not they don't need the the car can be wrecked but they they're working on the mechanical aspects of it and so as pointed out um having parts for an older car can be difficult to come by. So whether that's
included in this inventory I don't know but it very well could be. >> Great. Thank you everybody. We'll now take a a vote. All those in favor of approving all items on the consent agenda signify by saying I. >> I.
>> I. Motion carries. Four to zero. >> Next on our agenda is uh one of our action items and this is the middle school language arts adoption. I'll turn it over to Dr. Dudley. >> Thank you. So, pursuant to Indiana code, all schools must provide uh reading
instruction rooted in a core program aligned to the science of reading in kindergarten through 8th grade. Um, last year we adopted a program um for elementary that was rooted in the science of reading and this year we are
recommending that we um adopt amplify ELA for our sixth through 8th grade students. And so this program is a comprehensive literacy program that provides instruction in corresponding materials for reading, writing,
vocabulary, grammar um and speaking and listening. And every unit is surrounded by um a quality literature andformational text um that the students study with that. Um and it really most
of them are excerpts or um chapters within the book. They also do have in each grade level one full length text but um the committee felt very strongly that the um volume of reading is fabulous in there but they needed more
fulllength text. So we are also um recommending that we adopt um three additional um full length text as well. And so this is um something that that our committee um is excited for and we are actually doing some um piloting this
spring with this program as well in our middle schools. >> Thank you very much. Do I have a motion to approve the middle school language arts adoption? >> I move to approve the middle school language arts adoption.
>> Thank you. Do I have a second? >> I second it. >> Thank you. Any discussion on this? >> No. Okay. Did you have >> No. >> No. Okay. >> We'll take a vote then. And this again, this was something that we we have seen um we've already seen before and
discussed previously. Correct. >> Um in in our meeting. >> Uh all those in favor of approving the middle school language arts curriculum signify by saying I. >> I. >> I. Motion carries 4 to zero. Our next action item is a bid award and
this is a bid award for the Carmel High School 2026 improvement projects. Mr. Mcichael. >> Thank you. U this bid is for just over five um 5,700,000. It includes a number of projects. So
I'll give you a brief description. Um the first is it it includes paving at the stadium, all basically all the parking lots. As you know, we're doing a major project there, and this will be at the end of the project. We'll pave all the parking or repave it. Um, as well as
some cosmetic uh updates with the tennis building, the Witkin Center, as well. And then also on the visitor side of the stadium. Um, then it also includes uh work at the main cafeteria. Uh the uh venting in the kitchen. Um but and also
then the roofing um where the vent comes out because the roof actually is more expensive than than the vent but it needs to be replaced before we do the vent. Um also uh we will be um sprinkling the auditorium as we're required to do um when we had a previous
project approved and so this was anticipated. Um and then finally there's an emergency generator being installed. Um, and together all of those together is what's included in this bid award. >> Thank you very much. Do I have a motion
to approve this bid award for the Carmel High School 2026 improvement projects? >> I move to approve the bid award for the CHS 2026 improvement projects. And thank you, Mr. Mcichael, for reminding us of the projects.
>> Thank you. >> Do I have a second? I second. Thank you. Any discussion? >> Just a comment that it u that all the bids um you were able to accept the lowest bidder in all cases. There
weren't any other >> Yes. >> concerns. So it is the low bid. >> It is the low bid. And and um I'd like to mention too that we continue to have uh very good participation for for a number of years after co um it was very
difficult getting uh the kind of competition that we'd like to see. So we're very pleased that everything that's been bid this year uh we've had lots of participation. We had almost double the number of biders for example on Smoky Road project as we did for uh Cherry Tree and that oftentimes
typically reflects in the pricing as well. So, that's all good news. >> Thank you for that last bit of information. I know the time that Mr. Brown and I have been on the board, that was definitely something we heard in the past years, but it was it was difficult to keep prices down when we would only
have so many bids on projects. >> At this time, we'll take a vote then. All those in favor of approving the bid award for the Carmel High School 2026 improvement projects signify by saying I. >> I. Motion carries four to zero. Our
next action item is another bid award and this is for the Carmel Middle School midlife cycle renovations. Mr. Mcichael. >> Thank you. So this bid award is 7,848,000 $848,30 and a midcycle uh renovation includes um
kind of a at least for sure cosmetic changes. So for example, all the finishes in the building or most of them at least the wall coverings, the paint floor, the carpet will be replaced. Um it also includes uh necessary mechanical
and electrical and plumbing improvements uh as well as uh roofing. Um not the entire building in this case, but there's significant roofing replacement uh as well as some paving and then general trades, which is kind of
everything else. And so, um, it basically is something that we do in about after the building's been is either new or or been renovated about 17 18 years ago and it's kind of a freshen up, but there's more to it than that. It's not just paint and wallpaper, but
but that's what this project includes. >> Thank you, Mr. McMichael. Do I have a motion to approve this bid award for the Carmel Middle School midlife cycle renovations? I move to approve this bid award for the Carmel Middle School midlife cycle
renovations. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion on this? >> Same comment. This one is the low biders were all able to be a bid. >> Yes. >> Thank you. We will now take a vote. All
those in favor of approving the bid award for the Carmel Middle School midlife cycle renovations signify by saying I. I motion carries 4 to zero. >> Moving on to the reports section of our
meeting this evening. Our first is the report the student data report with Dr. Dudley students. um for the future that none of us can fully predict. And but we know that it will require adaptability, problem solving,
continuous learning, and the students in our classrooms today will become tomorrow's workforce innovators and leaders. And our responsibility is to ensure that they graduate ready not just for their next step after high school, but for a lifetime of learning, contribution, and success in a changing
world. So our mission states that Carmel Clay Schools will provide opportunities for all students to realize their potential in an everchanging world. That statement is at the center of this work. We're focused on making sure every student leaves Carmel Clay Schools with the
skills, confidence, and the flexibility to contribute meaningfully um pursue multiple pathways and to continue learning. Um all industries all industries and opportunities evolve as they evolve.
So this work is not separate from our strategic plan. It's directly connected to it. Our future ready learning is supported by academic excellence, by strong systems of support, instructional coherence, and especially real world learning and relevance. And tonight, our
report is on the strongest connection in that area to ensure that all students experience meaningful learning that helps them understand both the purpose of what they're learning and how it applies beyond the classroom. And this vision becomes real through
several key initiatives. We're expanding work-based learning and career connected pathways through partnerships with employers, city government, and community organizations. We're strengthening differentiated instruction and enrichment opportunities, including STEM, robotics, and academic clubs. And
we're aligning district pathways with the Indiana graduation requirements so that students have a clear options and strong support as they prepare for college, career, or military service. The world that our students are entering is rapidly changing and it's driven by
innovation and technology increasingly interconnected and filled with careers that do not yet exist. And because of that, our responsibility is not um to prepare students for one specific job at one specific moment. Our responsibility
is to prepare them for change by developing transferable skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and adaptability. So, when our students who are currently in kindergarten enter the workforce, we expect that they will work alongside
artificial intelligence, change careers multiple times, solve problems we cannot yet predict, and need to continue learning throughout their lives. And some of the jobs on this slide may sound unfamiliar. And that's exactly the point. We cannot prepare our students
only for jobs we already know. We must prepare them for the capability, flexibility, and learning how to learn so that whatever jobs are created in the future, they can um adapt to those jobs. So what should our future ready
graduates be able to do? They should be able to think critically and creative creatively, communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, adapt when information changes, solve real world problems, and take initiative while reflecting on their own learning.
And these are the skills that matter across industries, technologies, and job titles. And they're adorable skills that will serve students no matter what their future brings. So this work begins with what happens every day in our classrooms and we build
strong foundational literacy, emphasize thinking over memorization, encourage curiosity and creativity and help students apply their learning in new situations. And this is part of the future ready learning. Students are practicing teamwork, problem solving, communication and revision in ways that
prepare them for life beyond school. And so at this point I'd like to um share a brief so that you can hear directly from some of our students um and what this looks like. And you may recognize some of these students from um a while back
in a earlier video. I don't know what >> we first met Aubrey and Mera 7 years ago when they helped demonstrate how education was changing and technology was shaping their learning and their future. >> 1995
>> now in seventh and 9th grade that future doesn't feel so distant anymore. So let's check in. >> Hi my name is Mera. My grade is kindergarten and I am >> so cute. >> And I am five and a half.
>> She loves exploring outside, playing on her iPad, and watching singer, dancer, YouTube sensation, and big hair bow creator Jojo Siwa. >> Oh, me too. >> She will graduate from a Jojo 2032. Aubrey just finished second grade at
Prairie Trace Elementary. She loves watching YouTube videos, baking, and all things dogs. She will graduate from Carmel Clay Schools in 2030. >> It's crazy how far world is augmented reality.
>> So, we shared some technologies of the past and present with Aubrey and Mera and asked them to tell us about how they might >> This is what I remember most. >> What does that do? That looks so >> Oh, I remember filming this.
>> Twinkle, twinkle, little star. I think they told us it was like a telephone or something. And then I'm pretty sure they I'm pretty sure they did tell us like what they were after we filmed and then I was like, "Wow, a floppy disc."
I do remember doing the video. I don't remember that much, but the only thing I remember was just being really embarrassed by getting all the cell phone things wrong in the old machines. I just remember being embarrassed by how far off I was. >> I don't remember actually like recording it. Like I've watched it like a bunch of
times, but honestly, I feel like at this point I wouldn't be able to imagine going to school without technology. I really want to be a lawyer or like do something in law or maybe government. I feel like that would be really fun. I'm on the speech and debate team, so I feel
like that definitely helps. I think technology is helpful because you can figure things out a lot faster. or like whenever I'm curious about grades. I can always go on power school and check like and I can always check an agenda for a class I have I haven't gone to yet. I definitely want to do something medical related. I've been thinking about it for
a while, but I've always enjoyed science and math classes and I think that would be the perfect combination of the both of them. I'm taking a class called biomemed this year and we're digging into medical stuff and I think it's so interesting. Like I'm learning so much more. Like I just can't imagine how many new things there's going to be or like things that I don't even know exist yet
that are going to be there and I'll just have to learn along the way. But it's just it's something I like to think about. >> 7 years ago, Aubrey and Meera were just getting started. It was the following year that a global pandemic reshaped how students learn and connect and almost
overnight highlighted the growing role of technology in education. Since then, the world around them has continued to change faster than anyone expected. Artificial intelligence is already impacting students, teachers, and future
careers. And many of the jobs that today's students will have don't even exist yet. Today, education is about teaching students how to ask insightful questions, analyze information, and find solutions when the answers are not immediately apparent. It's about helping
students express their ideas with confidence, listen to different perspectives and work together to tackle challenges. Students are encouraged to imagine new possibilities, test their ideas, and learn through experimentation.
They explore what interests them, build confidence in their thinking, and come to understand that creativity and innovation are part of everyday problem solving. Just as importantly, students learn how to find information, evaluate sources, and use knowledge responsibly
in a world where content is constant and not always reliable. K12 education strikes a balance between building strong academic foundations and giving students space to explore who they are and who they aspire to become. It's where students begin to discover their
passions, their people, and how their learning connects to the real world. Through collaboration, hands-on experiences, and meaningful learning, students gain the skills needed to adapt, communicate, and continue learning as the world continues to
evolve. K12 education introduces students to their future while giving them the tools to shape it. The goal isn't to prepare students for one job or one moment, but to prepare them to think critically, work together, and move
forward ready for whatever comes next. >> I think high school's perfect cuz you have the time to experiment and like try different things and find what you really enjoy to do. >> I feel like we always have the pressure to be like the perfect versions of oursel like every single moment. But
it's like it's okay to not be that. School isn't about memorizing facts. >> It's about learning how to think. >> I'm not sure what my future will hold. >> Learning is preparing us to adapt. Education isn't having all the answers.
>> It's knowing how to ask the right questions. >> School isn't just about the tests. >> It's also preparing us for real life experiences. >> The future isn't something we wait for. We are learning how to shape it.
So, what you just heard begins early in our elementary schools. In elementary classrooms, we're building those strong foundations through literacy, knowledge building, collaboration, communication, problem solving, conceptual understanding, self-regulation, and
creativity. So it may come out as um in second grade working on foundational reading skills or in fourth grade where students are engaging in Socratic seminars in fifth grade where they're working on math thinking um classrooms where they're working on that conceptual understanding and collaborating with one
another to solve those real world problems. In kindergarten um working on their skills for success to understand their um self-regulation and how to work in groups with other students. Um, it may be in creativity with in our music
classes or our art classes and students are beginning develop to develop those habits and those mindsets that support that long-term success. And at our secondary level, our students have access to a wide range of rigorous and relevant opportunities and karmic
clay schools. I mean, at our high school, we offer more than 34 advanced placement courses. We offer more than 27 international balorate courses. Um 49 dual credit courses where our students have the opportunity um to really work
on developing getting those credits even before they go into um their college careers. Um we offer nine different world languages and we have more than 35 career pathways and we're continuing to
um increase the number of career pathways that we have. Currently we have 310 seniors that are in a capstone um pathway where that is their pinnacle of their career pathway. And these numbers
continue to grow. Um this year we have 1,655 students in a principal course which is the beginning of that pathway and those will continue to grow as we are implementing the new diploma um requirements as well where students have
those opportunities the pathways but the pathways range from everything from um medical pathways to automotive um to um human resources to education. Um students have a variety in business and
what wherever their interests might lie. Um and we start to really develop their and help to see where their interests might be actually in seventh grade. Our seventh graders take a course. It's called preparing for college and career.
And in this course, they have the opportunity to really um delve deeply into what are those different opportunities out there and then what might those pathways look like at the high school. And so one of the things they do is they start developing their
graduation plan. Um and it sounds like seventh grade seems like a young age to do that. However, they start scheduling for their high school courses in the beginning of eighth grade. We actually start in the fall of 8th grade. So, we want to make sure that they have that opportunity to really delve into what
are those different opportunities out there. Um, some of the things that we're working on that to continue to improve that is how can we maybe look at some exploratory classes to even um broaden that in our middle school to have some
exploratory elective courses um that align with our pathway. So that's something that we're just beginning to talk about to really look at what how are we going to enhance that middle school experience because that middle school experience is an opportunity to
explore where you might be. So in our um secondary schools we do have those opportunities. So strong schools do help to build those strong communities. And when we prepare our students with future ready skills, the employers gain adaptable skilled
talent. The workforce becomes more resilient and students are more likely to stay or return and come back to Carmel to lead locally within our um school district. And so that the innovation, the entrepreneurship is all
strengthened. So strong schools make strong communities. We definitely have um that connection and so this is why our community partnerships very much matter. Our community leaders can support this work by providing authentic project ideas, offering career
exploration and mentorship, serving as guest speakers, and helping our students to solve real world problems connected to local needs. And as we connect with the community um and the businesses in the community, uh we have our students that have those opportunities to go out
and have those internships, to have those opportunities um within our community. And so the future continues to change, but one thing that remains constant is that our students will help to shape what comes next. And so by investing in
our future ready learning today, we're investing in the strength, the resilience, and the prosperity of our community for tomorrow. And so, thank you so much for our board for the continuous support of obviously of our school and for our mission so that every
student has the opportunity to realize their potential in an everchanging world. And together we achieve. questions you might have. >> I love that video. First of all, that was very sweet to come full circle back
to the other video. Uh, and we've had an opportunity to meet some of the interns in the community lately and meet with some of those internship partners and it's such a wonderful resource that we have available. Um, and to your point like the students are the ones who are going to really identify what those next
things are. So, do you guys currently in either your um principal advisory council or superintendent advisory council or in other pathways talk with the students at the high school to find out what did they feel was missing? What classes would they have liked to have taken as you start to explore what is to
come next? >> Yeah. Yeah. And and so um Dr. Ostrike and Dr. Ferris and their advisory councils, that's one avenue. Um, but we also have students in all the different courses as they work and they talk with their teachers and then we look at what
are those new opportunities that we want to provide. And so sometimes those courses come from um students saying we would really like a course similar to this. Um every year we have it's called a curriculum advisory um committee where
the department chairs come to the meeting in early September and they look at what are those new courses that we want to offer what pathways do we want to engage in and those pathways and those courses come from um data that they're collecting from teachers
collecting from students collecting from parents and those interests. So there it comes through a lot of different avenues of what that um might look like. And we're continuously adding to those courses based on the students interest. >> And I and I'll also add that uh we had
our superintendent principal advisory council last week and we were talking about internships. And I'm going to give a shout out to Liz. Uh Liz is doing an internship with IU Health right now. So she came to the meeting in her scrubs and so I asked her how things were going. Um, and she's excited because
she's going to major in nursing and she's had the internship, a paid internship. And what she shared with the group was, "I would never have gotten into Purdue nursing without the opportunity to actually in real life, real world opportunities be a nurse.
While others are applying to be a nurse, I've done the work at IU Health." And so, she was grateful. And then Liz told a story about one of her uh friends who was also um in the internship at IU Health and her friend found out that she
did not like nursing because she didn't like the work. And so we just saved her friend's family a lot of money because she's not going into nursing now and she's looking into another opportunity. And so we have those conversations as Dr. Dudley said. Also a shout out to
Vinnie who is also in automotive right now and has an internship and working at Penske and has a job lined up at Penske while he works at um or while he's going to IvyTech to further enhance the skills that he has in the automotive in industry. And so he's a part of the
superintendent principal advisory council. So yeah, we I love having those conversations and hearing directly from the kids is so powerful. >> Followup question. Um, so when you get those recommendations and you guys through the committee and you decide that you're going to move forward with
something, what's the timeline for that? Is it like one year to implementation, three years? I it really depends um on like for example a um career pathway. Typically there's a principal course and then there's the A and B foundational
courses and it may end with a capstone. So we if we're bringing a new um career pathway on, we may start with just the principal's courses and then the next year we bring on the principal's courses. So it depends on that. Um in some cases, you know, it's just um in
like it the high school for like student clubs, students can if they are interested in a club, they can develop that club as soon as long as they get a faculty sponsor. The courses are not that easy because we have to make sure
that there is a course that aligns with those interests and we have to use the state approved courses. Um so we have to find make sure that course aligns. Um but we do look at okay if this is the interest what courses might align to
that piece. So maybe it could be right away that you know if we have enough students that are saying they have an interest in this and we're looking at we're um developing that it could be um in one year. We had another course a couple of years ago where we had some students that were interested in it but
we needed to build the interest before we could offer the course because we can't offer a course with 10 students. Um you know there's we have to we have to look at what are our resources available. So it really depends on the course. It depends on the interest level
of the students and then how quickly does Sometimes our courses um that we offer grow very quickly. Like for example um criminal justice was a course that we brought on a a new career pathway we brought on a couple years ago
and that grew very quickly much more quickly than we thought it would. The interest in that. Another one was our certified nursing assistant course where that has tripled in size. So we brought it on. So it really depends on um the interest level of our students.
>> Thank you Dr. Dudley. I really enjoyed the video as well. I just wanted to note um you had mentioned um our interest in um having community members who might be able to become a mentor in the workbased learning and um I just wanted to note
for the public that there is a partnership form on our website for that under on the high school website under academics and then if you go to workbased learning um I think it's just amazing and you know sometimes when your kid my youngest is going to college and
um in a couple of years and we get those little uh Instagram stories about from college advisory type things and one of the things where they were rating what's a good extracurricular and what's not and one of them was work-based learning in particular like the CNA uh
opportunity which is one of our pathways and I thought we have that I mean we just have an amazing uh portfolio of opportunities for our kids and I do believe that it will um set them apart from other college applicants. So, I'm
really excited. Um and thank you for all your work in that area. >> Yeah, I wanted to I'll add on to that. I I'm I'm a big proponent of internships and engagement with community leaders and I've watched my son and some others at where I used to work with. we'd bring
in high school kids even and uh it was just so helpful for them. But um yeah, a question on the community leaders um u what uh what do we do to go out and try to pull them in and communicate make them aware that we have you know
opportunities for them to come in and participate in in developing our our learning programs that would benefit them. >> Yes. Yes. So we have at the high school we have two positions. We have two workbased learning coordinators that they they spend a majority of their time
building those partnerships with the community leaders. And so they're going out, they're meeting with them, they work with the different um community leadership to get leads on those those areas. Um and so those two people are responsible um to build those
partnerships. Another piece we have in our um pathways is for our students that are in our um adaptive program, we also have job coaches that are in the community where they go out with um some of our students and they help them make
sure they have the skills to be able to um work with the jobs and so sometimes those job coaches can help build some of the partnerships in different um businesses or organizations as well. So we definitely um but we have the two positions that's dedicated to build
those um partnerships with our community and they continue to go after you know if students are saying this is something we're interested in they say okay how can we find what what can we find and then they go out and find those leads um in the community
>> do we have any like target numbers like I'm just going to make up a number really let's say we have 50 community leaders involved today And do we have like a a plan that we're going to add 20 by the end of the year or anything like that that >> um yeah and I and I'm not sure how many
community partnerships um we currently have. I can certainly get that information. I don't have that off the top of my head. Um but as far as how do we continue to improve that it it's driven by what are the pathways that students are interested in and then we go and find those partnerships. And so
we may have um for example many students that are interested in maybe cyber security. And so we may need to find several different partnerships to be able to place the students. You know, it's it's led by the number of students that we have that want to have that need
to have those um internships in those areas. And they go out and they do an excellent job. our two um workbased learning coordinators do an excellent job of building those partnerships and then continuing to um work with them so that they're willing to take more and
more of our students and we get I mean the feedback we get from our community partners is that our students it's amazing that they're high school students because they really feel like they're they're they come in they're very responsible they're very mature um
they um are very helpful. They're not just there, you know, they're benefiting to get the experience, but they're also helping to support whatever that company is or that um industry is. >> I I also want to reiterate what Dr.
Dudley said. It's also about increasing the capacity of our current partners as well. I know for example at IU Health, we started small, but it's been growing and growing and growing to give more kids the opportunity within our current partners, which has been really helpful. The other thing that I hear from our
professional partners and especially from West Drew and Chard Reed at the high school is that our internships of are of the highest quality when you look in the area because of the connections that our workbased learning coordinators are making with the businesses and our
community leaders. Um they continue to work with them. They gather feedback. Um feedback going both ways uh with the uh the employers in the area. And so the quality of what we're doing, we're not just throwing kids in certain jobs and and calling it an internship or a
work-based learning workbased learning opportunity. We're really engaged from the school level to the community partnership which sets uh Carmel High School apart from many schools in the area. >> Yeah. But just one last uh comment. I
think it's it's really makes uh it's a very important point you made that things are changing so rapidly and it's just going to get faster. So what what our kids may uh think they might be interested in could be gone tomorrow.
And it it might make better sense to turn that around at least to some degree where we're out there with, you know, even small startup companies and to try to say what's what's breaking and and it kind of drive it from more what they
might be bringing in rather than what we think is out there today because it it it is changing so rapidly. And that and that that's why it's so important to make sure we're teaching them those transferable skills regardless of what industry might be out there in the
future. >> That was going to be my comment. Um um four of us were at a um conference a couple weekends ago and um one of the uh well and we'll report report on that in a couple weeks. Um but one of the um
sessions I went to talked about um the number one determinant factor in success for students and it was self-control. And so learning some of these a lot of these things that they're learning from kindergarten on up the skills for success learning to be adaptable and flexible. Um that was the number one
determinant. So that was just my comment was um that you know that was a a little part of it and it's not really something that anybody else touched on but I thought that was really really interesting that what we're doing from the time kids enter our classrooms till the time they graduate and and it's it's what we might consider maybe soft skills
but um they really make a difference. >> Well I I'll just add one last thing that Dr. Dudley talked about those skills for success that we have here in the district. We had a great team of professionals that worked to develop those and they base those upon the
employability skills with the Indiana Department of Education. So, um all of that coming together to what we're seeing culminate for our seniors and those opportunities have been very positive and we'll continue to grow them. And so, kudos to Dr. Dudley, her
team, Dr. Ferris and the team at the high school, but also the work that goes on at our middle schools and our elementary schools. Um, it takes all of us working together uh and making those transitions seamless as we continue to provide those opportunities for our
kids. Mrs. Cashion, >> um, one question since this is, you know, open to the community to hear and we know we have so many opportunities and we're expanding them. If you had a wish list of the hardest to find opportunities for our students right now, what would that be and how can we
help? Um I'm not sure if we have if I have that information here, but we certainly can get that out um to our community um as far as as I said, you know, our two workbased learning coordinators do such a fabulous job of going out there and
finding um what they need and continuing to building those partnerships. >> Great. Thank you very much, Dr. Dudley. Our next report is our monthly financial update. um with Mr. Mcichael. >> Thank you. This evening I'm going to ask uh Amanda Kushar, our director of
finance to give the report to you. Um so come up at the podium in this case. Um we actually met with Shards last week and he was looking for um some accounting and finance companies to connect with. He had some really
talented students that he was So, if you know anyone, I know he's looking for that. So, one of our uh strategic goals within the operations and resource management category is budget transparency and stewardship. Um throughout the district,
we really manage our financial resources with transparency and efficiency. Um, one of the ways that we in Oh, I can make it closer. That will be better. Yeah.
Um, one of the ways that we ensure transparency is through these uh monthly financial updates that we share at each board meeting um each month and then we later post them on our website. Uh the reason that we do all of these
things is we really want to uphold the um the strong fiscal responsibility and transparent operations which al ultimately uh maintains the public's trust in what we do. So with all that background we will kind of go through February results and we'll start with
the education fund operating referendum and rainy day fund. And I'm going to focus primarily on the education fund and the operating referendum because we do have another slide where we look at the rainy day fund separately.
Um on the revenue side, revenue is coming in as expected. Um as you may know the uh revenue for the education fund uh primarily comes from tuition support which is very consistent and comes every month and then for the operating referendum that comes from
property tax which is why there is none of that in there. so far this year. Um we'll get our first dis dispersement for that um in May and June of this year. On the expense side, again, things are coming in as expected and projected. Um
about 95% of the expenses in these funds are salaries and benefits. So they are very consistent. Um same thing each month. I will note that January was a three pay month. So that's why those numbers are a little bit higher. when we look at February ending cash
balance as compared to where we were at last year. Um so currently at the end of February we were at 10.2 million last year. This time we were a little bit higher at 11.7. That again is what we expected to
happen. Um per budget we are expecting to use a little bit of our cash balance this year. Um and that was what we forecasted. Uh next we'll look at the operations fund. So very light on revenue. Again this is
funded by property taxes. So we won't see any revenue until May and June. On the expense side it is more variable. Um about 49% is salaries and benefits. So there's more variability in when the in the timing when expenses hit here. When
we look at the um cash balance as of the end of February, we have 1.2 this year as compared to uh 1.3 negative 1.3 last year. The primary reason for that difference
is we have been transferring money to the rainy day fund at the end of the year each year for the past few years, but we did not do that at the end of 2025. And that was really kind of in preparation for SB1. there's a lot of uncertainty, so we did not do that this
past year. Uh, next up, we have our safety referendum. Um, so again, no revenue in this one. Property taxes again, uh, the expenditures on this one are a little bit of a mix. And we have, um, year-to-
date negative10,000 as compared to negative600,000 last year. Not too much different. We did start with a little bit higher balance this year than we did in previous years. Uh finally, we have our rainy day fund. So this balance was also represented in
the first chart I showed you, but we want to pull it out as well. The only way that revenue gets into this account is we when we transfer it. Um so that's when you would see revenue in this account. And there's actually not usually very much activity at all. Um we
do have an expense um in this in February. So that is related to uh the one-time expense for changing the teacher evaluation. Um so in 2025 we decided this is a one-time expense. We're going to put it towards rainy day.
We are actually um paying it over multiple payments, but it is a onetime expense. So you can expect to see about $54,000 additionally hit the rainy day this year. I think that's everything question.
>> Um, yeah, just a quick one on the U rainy day fund. Do you believe we'll be doing any transfers this year given our challenges or is it too early to ponder that? >> I think we can revisit it maybe mid year to see where we're at. I think we'll
have more information about SB1 and its impacts soon and so then we can revisit it at that point. >> Yeah, we start out fortunately in this fund uh in relatively good shape as far as anticipating the negative impact of of SEA1 and which is why as noted we did
not make a transfer. Um, I think it's it's too early to tell really, but we still want to wait and see. Um, get a little more information before we try to make that decision, but we'll certainly keep an eye on it. I think it's certainly less likely than it would have been in the past.
>> Thank you very much. Hey, I have a brief um Caramel Clay Parks Department update. I just wanted to um let the board and the community know about two projects because they because of their proximity specifically to Carmel Middle School or to the center
of Caramel and what um the city is calling the Old Meridian corridor. And this is the Autumn Greenway and Veterans Greenway. And then this is part of um this is not a project that the parks department is paying for. This is um part of the city's infrastructure bond
program. And these will be um some additional paths that will connect some of the other paths that the city already has. But these paths will um kind of be around again that vicinity of Carmel Middle School. And then after that we have Mr. Brown with the uh Caramel Redevelopment
Commission report. Yeah, similarly, I don't have a a lot to report. Um, but I thought there was just some there were some properties that were uh came in on a me email uh to I think Kristen and uh Jennifer before I
was vice president. That was kind of a not official notification that there's some residential um allocation areas or tiff allocation areas and it was uh it's it's way in advance when anything will happen. What was kind of interesting about them is they're residential. They use the word
residential. So, I was thinking, okay, this might this could potentially have more impact with enrollment. So, I've been keeping my eye on it. Nothing's really developed on them. And even if uh if if all the structures that were built, they they are I'll go ahead and
mention them. One's called the the North End Residential. It's it's north of Smoky Road just east of Meridian. Um there's 31 parcels, so there could be potentially 31 residences. No, so these
aren't apartments or, you know, multifamily units. These are actually would be um potential homes. Um similarly, there's one called Flora and it's just north of 465 and just west of
Springill. Um there are some units already built there and this is there's quite a bit. There's 91 parcels. Um, all those are within the Town Meadows and Creekide schools, Town Meadows Elementary and Creekide Middle School. And then there's another one uh
northwest end of town just south of 146 and just east of town. And that that's not been parcled out yet, but it could actually be 15 homes. So, u, but again, that's only in Collegewood. So I I wouldn't expect that if even if those
were homes that would appeal to young families with children, it wouldn't be that much impact to Collegewood or and Creekite. Um the only one that these other two could potentially because one uh the one at North End could be 31 units and like I said before, the floor
could be 91. But I I think these are targeted more for u empty neester families and the timing is is you know, they're not even approved yet. So, these are way out there. These are these could be one to five years. I'm trying to get more information, but I thought I should at
least mention it at this point that u it's a little unusual that the residential ones going through the the CRC and uh I'll keep my I'll keep my eyes on it. Um there was another one that came up probably a couple years ago called
one 111. It's 111 on Penn. It could be a thousand units, but but again, they're like multifamily more uh more likely to be, you know, luxur we like to use the word luxury apartments and and units which typically mean that they don't have a lot of
bedrooms for families. They're not appealing to families. So, uh but that one's not moving anywhere. So that's that's the significant information about that is that as I understand it the rates are are high enough now where the the builder is not interested in in
starting that one and and just a general comment with uh there's been some discussion on on sea one and how it affects um the CRC and it looks like it could uh if it stays on this course it too would be affected
in such a way where it would um probably hinder some of the development rates that we've seen in the last few years. So, um although I would say most of the CRC development has been, you know, the luxury apartment, luxury condo uh realm.
So, those just don't appeal to uh young families. So, it's all I wanted to share tonight. >> Thank you. That was great. Yeah, that's perfect to giving us that information on, you know, future developments that that may impact having students. Any
questions for Greg? >> Thank you. Uh, our next report is the superintendent report with Dr. Orike. >> Well, good evening, Vice President Kay, members of the board. Also a shout out to uh, President Shapiro as he's watching uh, virtually tonight. Um I'm
tonight I really am proud uh to highlight several areas that reflect the excellence of our students here in Carmel, our staff and also our community. And so we're going to start with Carmel Clay Schools continues to be recognized as a national leader in public education in the newly released
2026 niche rankings. And while no single ranking defines who we are, this recognition does reflect the collective commitment of our students, our families, our community, uh, and our staff as well. And if you don't know what the niche rankings are, they often they come out every year, but they often
use them when people are searching for homes. And they go and see where their home is located and then what school correlates with uh that they would attend with their home. And so they have the ratings and they have um grades for each school and so on and so forth. And so we are very proud to share that
Carmel Clay Schools is a top 100 school district in the nation. Uh we were 66 out of more than 10,000 uh school districts nationwide and we're up from 84 from last year. Um we're positioned in the top 1% of all school districts in
the United States. Uh we were the ranked the number one public school district in Hamilton County in the Indianapolis area and ranked the number two public school district right here in the state of Indiana. Additionally, all 15 of our schools uh were rated as an A or an A+.
Uh that's the first time that that has happened. Um all three of our middle schools are in the top 10 of all public uh schools in the state of Indiana. and six over half of our elementary schools are also ranked in the top 10 of public
schools here in Indiana. And what I'm really proud of as we continue and as Dr. Herrera and Dr. Dudley continue to work and attract great teachers um to Carmel Clay Schools as we've continually done. Uh we were named the best place to teach in Hamilton County and I was very
proud of that recognition as well. Let's talk about Carmel High School. So, Carmel High School, the number one public high school in the area. Um, it was ranked 259 out of over 20,000, 20,000. So, that's in the top 1.2 or 3%
of all high schools in the nation. And also ranked number six best high school in Indiana for STEM. And you heard a lot about STEM here this evening, uh, including both public and private schools as well. So this recognition and these recognitions are a testament to
our shared vision and the intentional work that you also heard from Dr. Dudley tonight that's happening in every classroom across Carmel Clay schools and we're very proud of that. I would also like to recognize outstanding accomplishments from Creekide Middle
School. Under the leadership of teacher Barbara Glennesque, 11 Creekide robotics teams competed in the Indiana State Robotics Competition uh at the middle school level with the VEX IQ competition. And so their performance
was nothing but remarkable. And so out of a 100 teams that made state across uh Indiana, 88 Creekide teams uh made it to finals. Four Creekide teams will be advancing to the World Robotics
Championships and more than a quarter of the Indiana teams advancing to worlds are from Creekide. Additionally, we also had robotics teams that it I mean it's an honor to qualify for state. Only a hundred um teams qualify across the state of Indiana and Clay Middle School
had multiple teams. Carmel Middle School was represented and also Woodbrook was in there as part of our elementary schools uh at the state competition uh which was held at Lucas Oil Stadium. So quite the uh quite the uh environment,
quite the setting for our state robotics championships here in Indiana. And these achievements certainly reflect not only technical skill but also collaboration, creativity, and perseverance. I feel like I'm reiterating Dr. Dudley's presentation and that was not planned at
all. Um, but we are truly grateful to our families, our students, our staff who serve as coaches, adviserss. We have community members that come in and work with our students who make all of these opportunities possible. So, very proud of all of our robotic students across
the district. And then our bell ringer for tonight, uh, Mrs. Cashion was there with me, Mr. Caramel on Friday night. And if you haven't been to Mr. Caramel, you have to get there. And so what Mr. Carmel is, it's a long-standing tradition at Carmel
High School that brings together student leadership, school spirit, and service in truly a meaningful way. And so this event um features seniors uh senior students competing in a fun pageant style competition that includes uh
talent talent performances and also fundraising. This is organized through our CHS Champions Together program uh which supports students with intellectual disabilities and with faculty sponsor Miss Aaron Modestet. Coach Ma, I have to give her a shout
out. Um Mr. Carmel raises both funds and awareness for Special Olympics Indiana and also our Carmel High School unified activities and sports uh while also supporting inclusive opportunities for our students uh at Carmel High School.
So this year, Carmel High School raised or I'm sorry, Mr. Carmel at Carmel High School raised nearly $20,000 for Special Olympics Indiana and for our unified activities at Carmel High School. And also congratulations to this
year's 2026 Mr. Caramel Spencer Cell. So Spencer uh very charismatic uh young man uh senior at Carmel High School. Uh his performance was uh unforgettable. So, it was fantastic. And what I love about the
performances and the talent shows is they have escorts, which are students with disabilities, and they escort the Mr. Carmel uh contestants, and they incorporate um the escorts into their talent performances, and it's
phenomenal. You have to go see it next year. Please come out for Mr. Carmel. And so, beyond the beyond the entertainment, uh Mr. Carmel reflects who we really are as a district. It highlights belonging, leadership, and a commitment to serving others. And I'm incredibly proud of our students for the
way that they led with both both heart and purpose. And it was it was phenomenal. So, in closing, moments like these remind us of all the incredible work happening in Carmel Clay schools each and every day. And um so from academic excellence to student
leadership to innovation and teamwork, our students and staff continue to make us proud. So, thank you for your continued support of our schools and our district. And that concludes tonight's report. >> Thank you very much. I just have a couple of announcements. On this
upcoming Monday, March 30th, we will have a schoolboard special session here at the Educational Service Center starting at 6 PM. Uh, and then well, in only a week and a half, we have spring break from April 6th through 10th. Then
our regular school schoolboard session um on April 15th. So that is a Wednesday. Again, this one will not be held here, but it will be held as we do yearly at Clay Middle School because it's in combination with a celebration um for teachers and staff. April 29th is
our schoolboard workshop session and then May 13th is our schoolboard regular session. May I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> Motion to adjurnn. Do I have a second? Second. Thank you. Meeting adjourned.